Illinois Festival of Racing
Encyclopedia
The Illinois Festival of Racing, held at Hawthorne Race Course
in Stickney
/Cicero
, Illinois
, is a series of six horse races run for and restricted to Illinois
(conceived or foaled) state-bred Thoroughbred
race horses. The event usually takes place in November just after the Breeders' Cup
series.
Hawthorne Race Course
Hawthorne Race Course is a race track for horse racing in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, near Chicago.The oldest continually-run family-owned racetrack in North America, in 2009 the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America...
in Stickney
Stickney, Illinois
Stickney is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,148 at the 2000 census. It was well known in the 1920s and early 1930s as the home for several bordellos linked to mobster Al Capone's empire....
/Cicero
Cicero, Illinois
Cicero is an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 83,891 at the 2010 census. Cicero is named for the town of Cicero, New York, which in turn was named for Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, is a series of six horse races run for and restricted to Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
(conceived or foaled) state-bred Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
race horses. The event usually takes place in November just after the Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
series.
The Six Races
| Race name | Distance/Surface | Restrictions | Purse |
| The Lightening Jet Handicap | 6 furlong Furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries.... s - dirt |
3-year-olds & up | $100,000a |
| The Buck's Boy Handicap | 1 and 1/16 mile - dirt | 3-year-olds & up | $100,000a |
| The Showtime Deb Stakes | 6 furlongs - dirt | 2-year-old fillies Filly A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old.... |
$100,000a |
| The Sun Power Stakes | 6 furlongs - dirt | 2-year-old & up colts Colt (horse) A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age.... & geldings |
$100,000a |
| The Powerless Handicap | 6 furlongs - dirt | 3-year-olds & up (either gender) | $100,000a |
| The Illini Princess Handicap | 1 and 1/16 miles - dirt | 3-year-olds and up | $100,000a |