The fields for the 12 Night of Champions stakes finals have been assembled, as the best in the state of Illinois will be in the spotlight on Saturday night, Nov. 9 at Hawthorne Race Course.
With more than $1.5 million USD in purses on the line, divisional titles will be decided on the Saturday card. First post on Saturday night is 7:10 p.m.
Race 1 - $60,000 USD Tony Maurello Memorial Championship
The night kicks off with a full field of filly and mare pacers three years old and up, as all 10 who qualified from last week’s elimination return. The winner of that elimination is the co-5-2 second choice in the Trackmaster morning line, Fox Valley Leah. Owned by Lester Peters, Richard Tomei and trainer Todd Warren, Fox Valley Leah was victorious last week off a perfect stalking trip. A winner of four of 14 starts on the year and 14 for 27 in the win column on her career, Fox Valley Leah will again be driven by her trainer on Saturday night. Scorecard Dandy was the favourite in last week’s elimination, beaten just a neck by Fox Valley Leah in that spot. Making her 100th career start on Saturday night, the 26-time winner is trained by Greg Kain and gets Kyle Wilfong in the bike once again. The morning line favourite is Bombay Parkway for trainer Mike Brink and the meet’s leading driver, Casey Leonard. Third in last week’s elimination, Bombay Parkway rallied late from the outside draw in that spot. She has six wins on the year and has finished in the money in 14 of 32 starts in 2024.
Race 2 - $132,858 USD Kadabra Championship
Two-year-old male trotters will face off in the Kadabra final and an emerging rivalry finds the top two contenders next to one another in this spot. The 2-1 favourite is Louises Legacy, drawing post five, for owners Geis Enterprise and trainer Erv Miller. Never missing the board in 10 starts to open her career, Louises Legacy won on Championship Day at the Illinois State Fair and rallied to win the final leg of this series last week. Marcus Miller will be back in the bike. Her top challenger will start from post four as Sunburnt Silverado carries an equally impressive record into this final. A winner of half of her 10 starts, she has traded victories with Louises Legacy throughout the summer. Trained by Curt Grummel and driven by Casey Leonard, Sunburnt Silverado has been known to rate mid-pack early and rally in the lane.
Race 3 - $144,637 USD Fox Valley Flan Championship
Two-year-old filly trotters will compete in the Fox Valley Flan and a trio of horses are battling for a divisional crown. The 5-2 morning line favourite is Kays In Charge for owner Engel Stable of IL and trainer Tom Simmons. Never worse than second in 11 career starts with seven victories, Kays In Charge enters this final off back-to-back runner-up efforts in the last two legs of this series. Travis Seekman will be in the bike once again. The horse that defeated Kays In Charge in those legs is What A Legacy for trainer Mike Brink. Driven by Kyle Wilfong, trotting hopples were added to What A Legacy following consecutive breaks in Springfield and she has responded with strong rallies for victories in her last two. Lous My Number has been competitive in every start for trainer Steve Searle, hitting the board in all nine races to open her career. She was an easy winner in her division of this series last week and has drawn post three for driver Casey Leonard.
Race 4 - $80,000 USD Carl Becker Memorial Championship
Honouring a longtime fixture in Illinois harness racing, a compact field of four filly and mare trotters will take to the track in the Carl Becker Memorial. The 4-5 morning line favourite is Loulita for owner Flacco Family Farms and trainer Steve Searle. A winner of 22 of 95 career starts, Loulita has been victorious six times in 2024, including a win against Open company at Hawthorne on Oct. 20. Regular driver Casey Leonard will be in the bike once again. Marvelous Mystery poses the biggest threat to Loulita as she has gotten a later start to her 2024 campaign. After a huge two-year-old campaign in which she won 10 of 12 starts, Marvelous Mystery made six starts last season and another six this year. She posted back-to-back scores at Springfield and DuQuoin in August before breaking in consecutive starts following in Springfield. Trotting hopples were added and she returned last week with a strong second-place effort from the nine-hole in preparation for this race. Marcus Miller will drive Marvelous Mystery in the final.
Race 5 - $60,000 USD Phil Langley Memorial Championship
A talented field of eight male pacers three years old and up will contest the Phil Langley Memorial and the top contenders have drawn outside. Hezzz A Wise Sky, owned by Triple Zzz Stable and trained by John Filomeno, is the 3-2 favourite and will leave from post eight. A 55-time winner on his career, Hezzz A Wise Sky is on the verge of $850,000 in career earnings. Driving for many of those 55 wins has been Kyle Wilfong as he returned in the bike last week for the front-end score in the elimination. Just to the inside of the favourite will be 3-1 second choice Fox Valley Landen for trainer Amy Husted. Driven by Husted's husband Kyle, Fox Valley Landen has won seven times in 2024, including an impressive victory over Hezzz A Wise Sky in 1:47.4 at DuQuoin. He overcame a break at the start of the elimination to rally in the lane to qualify for the final, as he looks for career win number 21 in his 42nd lifetime start.
Race 6 - $155,244 USD Robert F. Carey Jr. Memorial Championship
Three-year-old male pacers will line up as a full field of 10 contest this Carey final. The 3-2 morning line favourite is Gorgeous Big Guy from post five with Marcus Miller driving for owners Douglas Overheiser and Mark Winship. Trained by Erv Miller, Gorgeous Big Guy has won 10 of 11 starts in 2024 with the only loss coming as a defeat by a head in leg three of this series. Guitar Man poses the biggest threat to Gorgeous Big Guy as the Rob Rittof trainee has won seven of 12 starts on the year, including victories in his divisions of leg two and three of this series. He overcame a troubled trip to finish second last week as regular driver Travis Seekman will handle the reins once again when they leave from post seven.
Race 7 - $224,623 USD Incredible Tillie Championship
The richest race of the Night of Champions card for the females features two-year-old filly pacers in the Incredible Tillie. Heading the field of 10 is 9-5 favourite Thebeautifulthings for owners Douglas Overhiser, Husted Racing, John Schwarz Jr., and Mark Winship. Trained by Amy Husted, Thebeautifulthings has won seven of eight starts on the year, including an impressive 4-1/2-length score off the layoff in last week’s leg four. Driven by Kyle Husted, Thebeautifulthings has drawn post five. The 2-1 second choice is Wildcat Abby for trainer Roshun Trigg. Drawing post two in the final, Wildcat Abby has won nine times to open her career and hit the board in all 16 of her starts. She won her division of the final leg of this series last week and Casey Leonard will drive once again.
Race 8 - $226,545 USD Incredible Finale Championship
The richest race overall on the card is for two-year-old male pacers and a horse in here makes his bid for the Illinois Horse of the Year title. Owned by Heart & Soul Racing and Casey Leonard, the Mike Brink-trained Cash Money Twenty is the 6-5 morning line favourite from post five. A winner of nine of 10 races this year, Cash Money Twenty was a game winner in 1:50 on State Fair Championship Day on Sept. 11. He has followed that win with four more victories, including scores in the final two legs of this series, winning both races going away. Casey Leonard will drive Cash Money Twenty on Saturday. Immediately outside of Cash Money Twenty at the start will be 3-1 second choice Dialogue for trainer Kim Roth. A winner of four of nine starts on the year, Dialogue finished a half length behind Cash Money Twenty in the State Fair final and has since won three of his next four starts. Kyle Wilfong will drive Dialogue once again on Saturday.
Race 9 - $60,000 USD Plesac Championship
A field of seven male trotters three years old and up will line up in the Plesac Championship and Niko Man is the 7-5 morning line favourite. Trained by Ken Rucker for owners Russell Beeman and Jack Freeman, Niko Man is looking for career win number 20 in his 48th lifetime start. Spending the majority of his summer in Indiana, Niko Man has won eight of 24 starts on the year. He returned to Hawthorne last week for the Plesac preview and was impressive in victory, winning by nearly three lengths with Kyle Wilfong in the bike. The speedy Goomster is the 5-2 second choice for owner Dennis Gardner and trainer Desirae Seekman. After winning 16 of 21 starts last season, Goomster has raced with mixed results in 2024, winning three times from 12 starts. He was victorious on the front end against Open trotters on Oct. 26 before a costly break left him distance in last week’s preview. Travis Seekman returns to drive Goomster on Saturday.
Race 10 - $189,701 USD Plum Peachy Championship
Three-year-old filly pacers will contest the Plum Peachy final with a full field lining up in this wide-open race. The 5-2 morning line favourite is Hypeyourbestieup for owners Cedric Daniels and trainer Jamaica Patton. A winner of seven of 12 starts on the year, Hypeyourbestieup took the Time Dancer at DuQuoin in August as well as an easy win in leg three of this series. A tough trip while wide last week leaves the door open for others in here though as Travis Seekman drives once again. A co-3-1 second choice is Fox Valley Sadie, who will start from post nine for trainer Amy Husted. The champion at the Illinois State Fair, Fox Valley Sadie won legs two and four of this series, winning easily from start to finish here last week. Kyle Husted will drive Fox Valley Sadie on Saturday. Also at 3-1 is Fox Valley Tessa for trainer Steve Searle. She finished just a length behind Fox Valley Sadie in the Springfield final and followed that race with an easy win in leg two of this series. Wyatt Avenatti will drive Fox Valley Tessa once again on Saturday.
Race 11 - $134,744 USD Erwin F. Dygert Memorial Championship
Three-year-old male trotters will face off in another wide-open field of 10 in the Dygert. The 5-2 morning line choice is Jewels For Champ from post nine for trainer Erv Miller. A three-time winner on the year, Jewels For Champ was able to overcome recent breaking issues to post a huge late rally to win the final leg of this series here last week. Marcus Miller drove in that start and will drive once again on Saturday. Drawing the rail, Lous Mandalorian is the 3-1 second choice for trainer Roshun Trigg. A winner of seven of 15 starts on the year, Lous Mandalorian has had similar recent issues to Jewels For Champ as he looked to reverse some recent breaking trends. He was sharp in his most recent race, also posting a late-closing score for driver Travis Seekman.
Race 12 - $109,658 USD Beulah Dygert Memorial Championship
The final race on the Night of Champions card is for three-year-old filly trotters with a standout favourite in here. The 6-5 morning line choice is Whiskey Lou for owner Randy Wilt and trainer Curt Grummel. A winner of 12 of 13 starts on the year, Whiskey Lou;s only miss was in the State Fair final as she was stuck behind a breaker at the start from the second tier. She has drawn post three for her third consecutive start in the Saturday final and Casey Leonard will drive.
(Hawthorne Race Course)