Archive for November 2012

Whitworth Debutante Preview

Patricia (Pat) A. Wentworth (1936-2011) served for many years as an executive board member of the Illinois Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Foundation, ITBOF, a “not-for-profit service corporation, representing Illinois breeders and owners and dedicated to the growth and development of the Illinois state-bred incentive program for Thoroughbreds.” While President of the ITBOF board, the Illinois... Read more »
By Paul Mazur,
November 28, 2012 at 8:47 pm
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Chicago's Horse Racing Stars Stay Busy

For some, Thanksgiving Weekend is a weekend for family functions. For others, it means a mad run on the retail world looking for bargains. For horseplayers, it’s an underrated weekend featuring cross-country stakes.  Breeders’ Cup winners (like Groupie Doll in the Cigar Mile) may use this to experiment or perhaps garner some additional year-end votes.... Read more »
By Paul Mazur,
November 21, 2012 at 8:52 pm
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Hawthorne: EHV Enters Second Month

It started on October 14, according to Dr. Dawn Folker, on-call veterinarian for Illinois’s upstate race tracks, in Barn A of the Hawthorne Race Course backstretch. It continued on for a month, with quarantines set in place in Barn A and the hope that it would subside. Sadly it has led to the deaths of... Read more »
By Paul Mazur,
November 19, 2012 at 8:37 pm
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A Silva Sweep in the Sun Power

STICKNEY/CICERO– Rider turned trainer Carlos Silva brought out three juveniles for today’s Illinois-bred two-year-old stakes action at Hawthorne Race Course. Each of the three earned top-two finishes, with Silva’s two-year-old colts LASSELL and SMOKIN GLOCK completing the exacta in the Sun Power Stakes. The third of them, INDYGOKISS, was second and half of a dead... Read more »
By Paul Mazur,
November 10, 2012 at 6:33 pm
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Showtime Deb Stakes/Sun Power Stakes Preview

If last week’s Breeders’ Cup was horse racing’s final exam, “Picks and Ponderings” got an “F”.  Expanding on that analogy, this weekend is an after-school tutoring session to try to regain confidence and do better next time. The material is two state-bred stakes at Hawthorne Race Course.  It’s the third of three weekends devoted to... Read more »
By Paul Mazur,
November 8, 2012 at 8:51 pm
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Breeders' Cup Saturday Picks and Ponderings

The Breeders’ Cup is a two-day event that in many ways serves as horse racing’s final exam. Given that many owners/trainers sometimes (but not always) use the Breeders’ Cup as a final race, we get one last chance to see our stars before retirement. Typically, campaigns may end for the year in this spot. Horse... Read more »
By Paul Mazur,
November 2, 2012 at 7:53 pm
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Breeders' Cup Friday Picks and Ponderings

The Breeders’ Cup is a two-day event that in many ways serves as horse racing’s final exam. Given that many owners/trainers sometimes (but not always) use the Breeders’ Cup as a final race, we get one last chance to see our stars before retirement. Typically, campaigns may end for the year in this spot. Horse... Read more »
By Paul Mazur,
November 1, 2012 at 9:43 pm
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