by Neil Milbert

Although the horizon isn’t as expansive as it was during the heyday of Sportsman’s Park and Balmoral Park, the shining stars of Illinois racing all will be out Saturday night when Hawthorne Race course presents its annual Night of Champions.

The 12 championship races for the Illinois-bred pacers and trotters that constitute the state’s main event will offer a grand total of $1,175,000 in purse money.

Four defending champions — Fox Valley Gemini, Annas Lucky Star, Fox Valley Exploit and Talk About Valor — are back as well as five other 2022 champions — Funky Wiggle, Lousdobb, Goomster, Illini Jetset, and Fox Valley Kia — moving up to an older age group after winning championships last year.

Fox Valley Gemini, an 8-year-old gelding pacer owned by Jim Ballinger, trained by Terry Leonard and driven by Casey Leonard, is already a horse for the Hawthorne history books after having won on the Night of Champions for an unprecedented six-consecutive years.

The 9-year-old aged trotting mare Annas Lucky Star is the other super nova in the Illinois-bred galaxy after having been the recipient of awards from the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association for the last seven years designating her as the champion of her age group. She is owned by her breeder, Danny Graham; trained by Nelson Willis; and driven by Hawthorne’s defending titlist Kyle Wilfong, who won six of last year’s 12 Night of Champions races.

Fox Valley Exploit is another perennial visitor to the winner’s circle on the Night of Champions with four victories in a row. Driver Kyle Husted co-owns the 6-year-old mare with David Brigham and his wife, Amy Husted, is her trainer.

The Night of Champions also has been bringing out the best in the 8-year-old gelding trotter Talk About Valor, winner of the Plesac Trot for the last two years for owner Shelley Steele, trainer Gerald Hansen and driver Travis Seekman. In the 2022 race he equaled the track record for an older pacer with a time of 1:53.2.

Joining Talk About Valor in the $45,000 Plesac this year will be Lousdobb, last year’s winner of the Erwin F. Dygert Memorial for 3-year-old male trotters for co-owners Flacco Family Farms and All-Wright Racing. Trainer Steve Searle will have Casey Leonard back in the sulky.

In the $47,000 Carl Becker Memorial for older mares Annas Lucky Star will be challenged by 4-year-old Funky Wiggle, who was last year’s most decisive winner when she captured the Beulah Dygert Memorial for 3-year-old fillies by 6-lengths. Funky Wiggle is owned by her breeder Dr. Patrick Graham and trained by Curt Grummel, who will have Wilfong back in the sulky.

Goomster will be trotting in the $90,000 Erwin F. Dygert Memorial for 3-yeasr-olds after having won the Kadabra last year in his Night of Champions debut. Dennis Gardner is the owner of the gelding and he employs the husband-and-wife team of Desirae and Travis Seekman as his trainer and driver, respectively.

The gelding pacer Illini Jetset also is graduating to 3-year-old colt and gelding competition, racing in the $105,000 Robert F. Carey, Jr. Memorial following his upset victory producing a $15 win payoff in the 2022 Incredible Finale for members of the freshman class. Co-owner Erv Miller, who leads the current Hawthorne trainer standings by a wide margin and has a winning percentage of 41 per cent, will call on Todd Warren to do the driving.

In the $116,000 Plum Peachy for 3-year-old filly pacers Fox Valley Kia is striving for an encore after setting a track record for her age and sex last year when she annexed the Incredible Tillie in 1:51.4. This year trainer Phillip Knox has been driving Fox Valley Kia for owner Julie Collins.

Previews of the 12 championship races:

$174,000 Incredible Finale pace for 2-year-old males (race 10 on the program) — This looks like a three-horse race and leading trainer Miller has two of the horses: Gorgeous Big Guy, who has four-consecutive compelling conquests with Warren at the reins, and Fox Valley Durham, decisive winner of three in a row with the track’s top driver Cordarius Stewart at the reins. The other standout is Guitar Man. Although he has been second and third in his last two starts for trainer Rob Rittof and driver Husted in the three prior races Guitar Man crushed his foes at Hawthorne, DuQuoin and Springfield.

$121,000 Kadabra trot for 2-year-old males (race 9) — The 10-horse field for the richest trotting race on the card is headed by Fireballs Pride, who flaunts five wins and four places in 10 races for Wilfong and trainer Darla Martin Lohman. Last time out he went off the 9-10 favorite but was forced to settle for second behind El Champee’onn, who led all the way with Robert Smolin doing the driving for trainer Russell Power. Two others have eye-catching credentials and connections — Lous Private Eye (three wins and three places in eight outings for Searle and Leonard) and Tru Cash (two wins, two places and one show in five starts for Miller and Stewart).

$187,000 Incredible Tillie pace for 2-year-old fillies (race 11) — This is the most lucrative race of the night and Hawthorne’s defending champion, trainer Husted, appears poised to cash in. She will send out three consistently successful fillies — Chickabell (five wins and two places in seven races), Fox Valley Sadie (three wins and two places in five races) and Fox Valley Gina (one win, four places and one show in six races). Her husband Kyle will drive Chickabell, described by Amy as “an absolute sweetheart since the day we bought her; she is very versatile and just a very professional animal.” Trainer Gary Rath and Leonard will try to play the spoiler role with Sleazy Sister, who has four firsts and two thirds to show for her outings at Hawthorne, DuQuoin and Springfield.

$119,000 Fox Valley Flan trot for 2-year-old fillies (race 5) — Trainer Grummel has a powerful 1-2 punch in Whiskey Lou (three wins and three places in six starts) and Calypso Moon (four wins and two shows in seven outings). They’ll have the services of two of Hawthorne’s foremost drivers since it became Chicago’s only harness track in 2016 — Leonard at the reins of Calypso Moon and Wilfong sitting behind Whiskey Lou. Lurking as an upset threat is Gjlindagrit, a filly trained and co-owned by Martin Lohman coming with a 13-race resume consisting of seven wins, four places and two shows. However, driver Matthew Avenatti will have to overcome the outside post position in the 10-horse race.

$105,000 Robert F. Carey, Jr. Memorial pace for 3-year-old males (race 6) — Fox Valley Landen won only two of his 11 races last year for Team Husted but he’s 9-for-11 this year, making him the class of the field. Illini Jetset is 2-for-9 but last year’s Incredible Finale winner snapped out of his slump last time out when he led all the way to win by a neck.

$90,000 Erwin F. Dygert Memorial trot for 3-year-old males (race 7) — Goomster and Niko Man finished 1-2 in last year’s incredible Finale and they look like the top horses in this race. Goomster has a 13-race 2023 resume that reads 10-3-1, while Niko Man’s 10-race composite reads 7-1-0. Last weekend they renewed their rivalry in a qualifier; Niko Man, who is trained by Miller, was the 1-2 favorite but finished second, trailing the star of the Seekman stable by 1 ¾ lengths.

$115,000 Plum Peachy pace for 3-year-old fillies (race 12) — This race brings together the 1-2-3 finishers in the 2022 Incredible Tillie — Fox Valley Kia, Rona Mae and My Daddy’s Revenge. However, they drew the 10, 9 and 8 post positions, respectively, and are facing the star of this year’s sophomore class, Fox Valley Leah. She made only two starts in 2022 but this year she is 9-for-10 for Miller and her $76,550 bankroll dwarfs that of her rivals.

$83,000 Beulah Dygert Memorial trot for 3-year-old fillies (race 1) — Radiant Diamond and Dawn Of Creation are having relatively successful campaigns after being second and third in last year’s Fox Valley Flan. To succeed in the Beulah Dygert Memorial, they’ll have to outdo Bell Boots, a winner of two of her last three races for driver/trainer Avenatti. Bell Boots has been one of the hardest working horses in Illinois this year with 24 starts, seven wins, five seconds and three thirds to show for her efforts.

$45,000 Robert S. Molaro Memorial pace for older males (race 4) — Fox Valley Gemini will have to defeat only five horses to win his seventh straight Night of Champions race. In 12 starts this year he has been victorious six times and second five times. However, he has a five-race losing streak that includes a fifth-place performance on Sept. 24 at Hawthorne. “We’ve been battling some sickness and he has kind of been working through it,” driver Leonard said. He is worried about 6-year-old arch-rival He’zzz A Wise Sky, who was overtaken at the wire last year and lost by a neck. Trained by John Filomeno and driven by Wilfong, He’zzz A Wise Sky has defeated Fox Valley Gemini several times in the past two years and left him nine lengths behind in second place last weekend. “It’s going to be an uphill battle,” Casey said.

$45,000 Plesac trot for older males (race 8) — On Higher Ground might have what it takes to steal the show from 2022 champions Talk About Valor and Lousdobb. The 6-year-old horse had been racing at Pocono Downs, Yonkers Raceway and Harrah’s Philadelphia before coming to Hawthorne last weekend and defeating both as the 7-10 favorite with Husted at the reins for trainer Jennifer Bongiorno. Talk About Valor was on a spree from mid-August through September, when he won four straight at Springfield, DuQuoin and Hawthorne, but then finished seventh after a tough trip on Oct. 3 and third last weekend. Lousdobb was 9-for-13 last year but this year he is 2-for-14. However, he has consistently been in the mutuel money and most recently was second to On Higher Ground.

$45,000 Tony Maurello pace for older mares (race 2) — Perennial champion Fox Valley Exploit has lost four straight since winning in mid-August at Springfield. The biggest threats to her quest for a fifth straight Night of Champions victory appear to be Husted stablemate Dandy’s Mnm, Apple Valley and Skeeter Machine. Dandy’s Mnm has been consistently in the top three going back to last summer. Apple Valley was a game winner last weekend for trainer Robert Taylor and driver Kevin Lambright and Skeeter Machine, who finished fourth behind Apple Valley, her only out of the money effort in a 12-race 2023 campaign that has seen her record five triumphs, a pair of seconds and four thirds.

$45,000 Carl Becker Memorial trot for older mares (race 3) — There are only five horses in this race and three of them unsuccessfully challenged superstar Annas Lucky Star in last year’s renewal — second place Loulita, third place Louzotic and fourth place Reign And Shine. The notable newcomer is last year’s Beulah Dygert Memorial heroine Funky Wiggle, who has been lightly raced this year and has finished second in four straight races at Springfield, Hoosier Park and Hawthorne since recording her last victory on Aug. 16 at Springfield. The owner/breeder of Annas Lucky Star is “hoping for the best.” According to Graham, “She’s not quite as good as she ever was but she’s almost as good. She is really good right now but I know they’ll turn Funky Wiggle loose.”