A Look Back to Sportsman's Summer of '78 (06/03/10)

Posted Thursday, June 3, 2010

                                                          By Mike Paradise

  This is another in a new weekly feature exclusively on www.harnessillinois.com. Every week I’ll post a least one “Looking Back feature. Mostly they’ll be of the great horses who have competed in our state through the years. At times they’ll be pictures from the winner’s circle, special celebrations, and in some cases old memorable race track scenes. Some of these photos haven’t been printed or posted in decades . . . others have never been printed at all.
  
  Just by right clicking your computer mouse, going to “Save Picture As”, you can make your own jpeg copy of any Looking Back photo posted. You can e-mail them and share with a friend or maybe start your own computer file of “Looking Back” memories.

                                            Looking Back

                                   SPORTSMAN’S PARK SUMMER OF ‘78

  Here’s a scene from the summer of 1978 at old Sportsman’s Park. On this mid-September Saturday night a crowd 18,250 patrons jammed the Cicero, Illinois facility to watch the finish of this $20,000 Handicap Pace.

  The winner was No. 4 (right) Pretty Direct, driven by Delvin Insko, who edged the favorite that evening Taurus Bomber (left, No. 6), handled by Walter Paisley. Pretty Direct was one of two mares in the field. The other was the third place finisher (No. 3, furthest inside) April’s Skipper with Jim Curran at her lines.

   Pretty Direct would prove best 11 races that year and went on to post of 30 victories in a standout career that saw the mare earn $455,410. In 1978 Taurus Bomber was a nine-time winner, while April’s Skipper would capture 15 of 33 starts. All three pacers banked over $100,000 for that season.

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