Mike Paradise
Recent Stories
The long and unpredictable road begins Saturday for 144 state bred juvenile colts and fillies with the well-liked Illinois Preview for two-year-olds.
The third time is said to be the charm. Evidently that’s not always the case. It took a fourth attempt to successfully get the Downstate Classics for ICF 3-year-olds of both gaits and sexes raced at the Macon Country Fair n the Decatur racetrack.
Being a professional harness racing driver has gone full circle for Marcus Miller, and no one is happier about it than the 35-year-old Illinois native himself. “I’m having a good time being back near my roots,” said Marcus.
The years flash by for all of us and Springfield based trainer horseman Jamaica Patton is no exception. The one-time upcoming driver now can be considered a prominent veteran on the Illinois circuit after nearly 30 years of toiling at his profession.
After back-to-back postponements because of the aftereffects of rain, the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s second Spring Previews for Illinois bred pacers and trotters, ages three and up, got under way Wednesday with its lengthy 20 race program at Springfield’s Illinois State Fairgrounds.
The 2025 Illinois harness racing season got under way Tuesday afternoon in Springfield with its popular Spring Preview for state-bred horses ages three and up. With 108 entries, a 17-race program, each with an equally divided $4,126 purse was on the line at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
The Spring Previews at the Illinois State Fairgrounds for ICF 3-year-ups and upward pacers and trotters are only two weeks away. It’s our first chance for the 2025 harness racing season to watch ICF horses compete.
It’s often been said that being a trainer or owner of a Standardbred racehorse could be compared to being on a roller coaster with its ups and downs and bumps in the road.
“Steady as She Goes” was originally a phrase used for a ship that was sailing steadily; however, it can accurately be used for the racing career Scorecard Dandy, twice the Illinois aged pacing mare of the year.
By definition, “one who suffers significate setbacks yet still manages to return to a position of success is a Comeback Kid.” Those who have followed the career of Wyatt Avenatti know that the Illinois-based harness racing driver most certainly qualifies for the notable title.
How about some good news concerning Illinois harness racing? Three-time Illinois harness horse of the year Fox Valley Gemini will be back in competition in 2025, says his long-time driver and job-sharing conditioner Casey Leonard.
You don’t often see a mother and her daughter both come up victorious in their most important race of their career however that rare feat was accomplished on Hawthorne’s Night of Champions when the Steve Searle trained Lou’s My Number captured the Fox Valley Flan Final.