The 60th running of the Illinois Derby certainly didn't resemble the race in its glory years but the fact Hawthorne Race Course staged the $200,000 contest at all April 21 represented a ray of hope for the long-suffering state racing establishment.
The race easily could have passed without notice except for the name and the symbolism of its return to the schedule. Patriot Spirit, last seen finishing third in the Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park, won, defeating four rivals.
While the quality of the field was shy of historic standards, a few of the contenders were stakes-placed and two, Real Men Violin and Les Gris, were early Triple Crown nominees.
By way of reference, the last time the race was run, in 2017, the winner was Multiplier, trained by Brendan Walsh. In 2015, it was Whiskey Ticket, with Martin Pedroza up for trainer Bob Baffert and his Watson-Pegram-Wellman ownership triumvirate.
In 2002, War Emblem won the Illinois Derby and went on to take the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1).
The race has been run at a smorgasbord of distances, bounced around three Chicago-area tracks and suffered through several multiyear interruptions. Yet, it has outlived two of its host sites, Aurora Downs and Sportsman's Park, and the 2024 renewal keeps a candle of hope flickering for the industry.
Since Churchill Downs Inc. closed Arlington International Racecourse after the 2021 season, Hawthorne, the only remaining Chicago-area track, has been splitting its season between Thoroughbred and harness meetings. The multigenerational owners, the Carey family, have struggled to keep the track afloat while shouldering six-figure costs for rebuilding the track with each switch of breeds and maintaining backstretch accommodations year-round for horses and personnel.
The return of the Illinois Derby won't reverse Illinois racing's fortunes. A true turnaround will require that Hawthorne president Tim Carey finally, after four years, work out financing for a long-promised on-track casino. A new harness racino in the south Chicago suburbs, authorized by 2019 gaming-expansion legislation, also is key to survival.
But any sign of life is welcome news in Illinois racing.
"It's a good thing for Illinois racing to have the Illinois Derby back in 2024," said Chris Block, president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, whose family operation, Team Block, is a long-time bedrock of the state's industry.
"Hopefully it will once again become a permanent fixture on the spring stakes program at Hawthorne going into the future. And, hopefully, with a higher purse coming from supplemental money coming from its racino soon."
