After 7-year break, Illinois Derby returns to Hawthorne in April

The Illinois Derby, which used to be the upper Midwest’s
biggest prep race for the Triple Crown, has been resurrected and will be run this
year at Hawthorne for the first time since 2017.

“Excited for the return of the $200,000 Illinois Derby (at
Hawthorne) this spring as it will take place on Sunday, April 21,” track
announcer and spokesperson Jim Miller said Friday in a social-media post on X. “For
horsemen, early nominations are due (next Saturday). This race will once again
serve as a great Preakness prep.”

Because it has been dormant since Multiplier won it in seven
years ago, the Illinois Derby will not have its old Grade 3 rating for what
will be its 60th running. It still will be staged at 1 1/8 miles around two
turns on the main track at Hawthorne.

The Illinois Derby was run off and on at three different
Chicagoland tracks since it was inaugurated in 1923. For much of the 20th
century it was sandwiched between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

From 2001 to 2012 it was scheduled in early April, making it
an important prep for the Kentucky Derby. That was until Churchill Downs Inc.,
which had operated rival Chicagoland racetrack Arlington Park, established its
qualifying-points system 11 years ago and excluded the Illinois Derby.

War Emblem franked the race when he won it at Sportsman’s
Park in 2002 on his way to finishing first in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.