Illinois horse and track officials announced July 6 of a meeting recently conducted at Hawthorne Racecourse concluded without a single catastrophic failure in either race or training, a track record of maintaining track surfaces, the “vigilance” of racers, numerous races across the globe. more turf and new veterinary policies.
Training began at the end of March when the ground surface was rebuilt after racing and continued through June 26 with 247 races and 1,648 starters. Hawthorne was originally given 32 days for the meeting but, with the approval of the Illinois Racing Board, vacated six of them, citing a lack of available horses.
“This is the product of commitment and partnership across our entire racing community at Hawthorne,” said Hawthorne assistant general manager John Walsh. “The nation’s eye is on horse racing safety and we are delighted that all of our work to ensure the safety of the racehorses at Hawthorne has produced such an amazing result. “
Chris Block, president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Riders Association, notes that Hawthorne, the only remaining racetrack in the Chicago area, has converted the dirty surface from harness to a thoroughbred configuration four times in the past year.
“It was a tall order for Hawthorne to switch the track from harness to Purebred, and then back again after each meet,” said Block. Hawthorne had that track in good order and that’s the thing. necessary to race safely,” Block said. “The pitch is also in good condition, despite a prolonged dry spell in June.”
Block also cites two additional factors.
“One, the state veterinarian in July 2020 implemented a new policy whereby a drug-negative test is required for a horse to be removed from the vet’s list and returned to the vet. race again and, two, this meeting at Hawthorne has a larger percentage of grass races than the previous meeting with Hawthorne.”
He said 18.6% of races take place this spring and summer, while in spring and fall 2021 the numbers are 11.7% and 10.6% respectively.
“Competent trainers have gone to great lengths to protect our horses, following best practices in terms of medication, and closely monitoring and evaluating training,” Block said. , study all indicators of a horse’s health. “But we also recognize that, sadly, catastrophic failure still occurs during the race. To complete this encounter without a single catastrophic incident is a huge relief and justification. testifies to the vigilance we all have as we race together at Hawthorne.”
ITHA also noted that overnight wallets averaged $205,000 during this spring-summer meeting, while in the previous Hawthorne meeting they averaged between $105,000 and $110,000. The increase is driven by fewer race days and increased “dark times” simulation pre-broadcasts now Arlington International Racecourse closed.
Riders are still waiting for an expected inflow of money from an active casino. However, work on that project has stalled for a long time with no explanation for the delay.
