Hawthorne returns with bigger fields, bigger purses

What a difference a year — and some casino impact money — makes for the folks at Hawthorne Race Course, whose spring thoroughbred meet opens Friday.#147;The casino money has made a huge difference,#148; said Hawthorne assistant general manager Jim Miller. #147;Last year we averaged about $119,000 per day in purses; this year we will be at about $190,000.#148; And the horsemen have responded #8212; big time. When the spring meet opened in 2011, only 950 horses were stabled at Hawthorne. This year#146;s backstretch count is already more than 1,300 horses.#147;The difference comes in the barns that have stayed here that normally would have shipped south,#148; Miller said. #147;Dale Bennett has 30 horses in training, Tammy Domenosky has 25 and Christine Janks stayed all winter with 25 horses.#147;Also, Wayne Catalano, Larry Rivelli and Jimmy DiVito normally send everything south and this year each of them left 25 in training at Hawthorne.#148; Mainstays such as Frank Kirby (60 stalls), Mike Reavis (35), Brian Williamson (37), Chris Block (35), Joel Berndt (40), Chris Dorris (40), Tom Dorris (33) and fall meet leading trainer Roger Brueggemann (60) are also on hand with plenty of stock.In addition, after only having a handful of runners at Hawthorne in the 2011 spring meet of 2011, the nation#146;s leading owner in victories in 2011 and Hawthorne#146;s fall meet leading owner, Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc., is on hand with a nice contingent of horses.Why the big numbers?Money talks.#147;The response to our increased purses and incentives offered for larger fields has been very well received,#148; Miller said. #147;And the horsemen know they can make a lot of money at Hawthorne,#148; Miller said.That#146;s true for the upgraded stakes schedule as well. The purse for the Grade III Illinois Derby returns to $500,000 after being reduced to $300,000 in 2011, and the Grade III $200,000 Sixty Sails Handicap, after a year#146;s absence, is back.There are also some new faces in the jockey colony, including Harry Vega, Chris Russell and Luis Medina.#147;This spring we have really teed ourselves up for a great meet,#148; Miller said. #147;Much of our success lies in the hands of Mother Nature now.#148;