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This weekend the Chicago racing season shifts its tack from the polytrack at Arlington Park to conventional dirt at Hawthorne.  The feature this Saturday is the Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup, which could produce a starter or two for the Breeders’ Cup.  The race drew a field of eight headlined by Redding Colliery and Temple City.

Redding Colliery has been a new horse since turning four this year.  In five starts he has three wins, one second, and one third.  This is his second start off a layoff and he has room to improve off his second place finish in the Iselin in late August.  Temple City ships across the country in what looks like to be an opportunity to see if he likes dirt.  He is best on or near the lead and there appears to be several front runners in this race.  Redding Colliery should get a good stalking trip, but if the speed doesn’t hold then Giant Oak will be running late.  He hasn’t won since early in 2009 and has always promised more than delivered.  The other closer is Going Ballistic, but he would have to step way up on speed figures to contend.  The Gold Cup goes as race 8 and is followed by the Carey Memorial Handicap on the turf.

For the first time, the Oak Tree meeting will be held at Hollywood Park and opening night is Thursday.  The nine-race card starts at 10:05 ET with the Grade 3 Senator Ken Maddy Handicap as the feature.  Overall the card drew a total of 76 horses and includes a couple of allowance and maiden special weight races.

Last year’s running of the Ken Maddy saw Gotta Have Her out-running Pasar Silbano and Tuscan Evening, but that was on the downhill turf course at Santa Anita.  Now the race will be run at six furlongs over a flat, conventional turf course.  No matter the course Unzip Me is a serious filly. She has won six of her last eight with a second and third.  She is the main speed, but she showed at Woodbine the ability to rate.  There does seem to be a little bit of speed in the race, which will help Bonifacio and Waveline. Alpha Kitten also rates a look for trainer John Sadler and Joel Rosario.  The owners of Alpha Kitten, Jerry and Ann Moss, hope that this is just the start of a big weekend.

This Saturday’s race card at Louisiana Downs is loaded with stakes races with the feature being the Grade 2, $500,000 Super Derby.  The nine furlong race drew a field of six highlighted by Hurricane Ike, Distorted Economy, Apart, and Golden Moka.  Hurricane Ike is the 9-5 morning line favorite, but has yet to win around two turns and is winless in two starts on fast dirt.  There is only a 10% chance of rain on Saturday so Hurricane Ike will have to prove his worth on the fast main track.  He could be lone speed, which is how Regal Ransom won the race last year.

Second in last year’s race was Blame and the same connections will try to win it this year with Apart.  Apart won the Prelude Stakes, the local prep race, in good fashion even after stumbling and racing wide for the majority of the race.  Distorted Economy is the second choice on the morning line and he definitely liked the Del Mar track, but now much transfer that form to the dirt.  He picks up P-Val in the irons and P-Val rode in Louisiana for much of the year.  The buzz horse; however, is Golden Moka.  Golden Moka is a Canadian-bred horse purchased at the Keeneland 2008 sale and ran in Panama his first three starts.  He won the Prince of Wales in Canada in July off an eight month layoff and beat a very good field.  Part owner of Golden Moka is retired jockey Rene Douglas, who retired late last year after a spill at Arlington Park left him paralyzed.  A win by Golden Moka would be great for Rene and his “good friends.”

The Grade 2, $1-million Pennsylvania Derby drew a field of only six, but it is a deep field with five of the six appearing to have a chance to take the money.  The morning line favorite is First Dude, who exits six straight Grade 1 races.  For as well as First Dude has run during this year he only has one win to show for it and that was at one mile around one turn at Gulfstream Park.  He was unable to get the lead in the Travers and he may have company up front again on Saturday from Exhi.  Exhi has five lifetime wins, but he is winless in four starts on the dirt.  Morning Line is another front-runner who is stepping into graded stakes off his 11-length allowance win at Saratoga in his last.

A Little Warm is likely to take money and his best races have been from just off the pace, which should be his running style this weekend.  He won two straight before finishing fifth in the Travers in his last.  Two long shots in the race that will have right running style are Afleet Again and Friend Or Foe.  Friend Or Foe exits the Travers where he finished sixth, less than two lengths behind A Little Warm.  Afleet Again also exits the Travers and he seemingly has no speed so a fast pace should be to his liking.  Afleet Again finished ahead of A Little Warm in the Travers and less than two lengths behind First Dude, yet he is 12-1 on the morning line.  A number that he may just out run.

It’s Jug Time!

A field of 23 sophomore pacers have dropped into the box for the $604,100 Little Brown Jug, the second leg of Pacing’s Triple Crown, set for Thursday, September 23rd at the Delaware County Fair.

One More Laugh, who won the Cane Pace, the opening leg of the Triple Crown, leads the field in the $64,437 third elimination, but will have to start from the outside post seven. One More Laugh and driver Tim Tetrick started from the one hole in the Cane Pace, fended off a challenge from Delmarvalous in the opening quarter-mile and cruised to a 4-1/4 length victory in 1:50.3.

With the win in the Cane Pace, the son of McArdle-Fancy Creek Funny improved to 2-for-2 on half-mile racetracks for trainer Ray Schnittker. On June 12, he won the $294,965 Art Rooney Pace at Yonkers Raceway. All three Pacing Triple Crown races are on half-mile ovals. In his career, which includes 14 wins in 23 starts, One More Laugh has won on every size track: mile, seven-eighths, five-eighths and half-mile.

One More Laugh has banked $1,668,920 for owners Schnittker, Mathias Meinzinger and Jerry Silva. He is the 2-1 morning line favorite.

Another leading Jug contender is Frank Bellino’s Rock N Roll Heaven, a winner of $1,523,601 in his career. Trained by Bruce Saunders the Rocknroll Hanover-Artistic Vision lad has won seven times in 2010, with his biggest triumph coming in the $500,000 Battle of the Brandywine at Harrah’s Chester. Daniel Dube will steer Rock N Roll Heaven from post two in the opening elimination. He is also the 2-1 morning line favorite.

“Of the top 10 3-year-olds, five of them are in my division,” said trainer Bruce Saunders. “Kyle Major has the rail and it will be interesting to see what happens when the gate closes. He likes to control the race, but I’m not sure he can here.

“My horse is very versatile. He can race up front or come off the pace. He’ll go any way Danny (Dube) wants him to go, but horses on the front end at Delaware have a big edge.

“Rock N Roll Heaven is very fresh and came out of his qualifier at Pocono in very good shape. When we get him on the track he’s going to want to race.”

The morning line favorite at 3-2 in the middle elimination of the Little Brown Jug is Delmarvalous. Owned by Badlands Racing, George Teague, Jr. Inc., Elmer Fannin and Howard Dorfman, the Badlands Hanover-Prymetime Scootie colt was a winner this year in the $500,000 Delvin Miller Adios final and a $115,500 division of the Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Delmarvalous has hit the board in five of his 12 starts this year, while ringing up earnings of $467,070. Trained by co-owner Teague and driven by Brian Sears, Delmarvalous has drawn the rail in his elimination.

The top three horses in each elimination will advance to the $289,969 second heat. If an elimination winner scores in the second heat, he will be the Jug winner. Otherwise, the four heat winners will return for a $120,820 race-off.

The exact race numbers and post times for the LBJ will be announced after the balance of the Thursday program is drawn on Monday.

Below is the field for the $604,100 Little Brown Jug, in post position order, with drivers and morning line odds.

$64,437 First Elimination

1. Kyle Major                      Mark MacDonald-7-2
2. Rock N Roll Heaven    Daniel Dube-2-1
3. Fred And Ginger           Dave Palone-6-1
4. Dreamland’s Art           George Brennan-12-1
5. Razzle Dazzle                 John Campbell-15-1
6. Foreign Office               Ron Pierce-10-1
7. We Will See                    Brett Miller-4-1
8. Aracache Hanover     Doug McNair-8-1

$64,437 Second

1. Delmarvalous               Brian Sears-3-2
2. Classic Rock N Roll    John Campbell-7-1
3. Piece Of The Rock       Paul MacDonell-5-1
4. Doc’s Yankee                Dan Noble-10-1
5. Fools Gold                     Tim Tetrick-20-1
6. Versado                          Dave Palone-7-2
7. Just Crowned               TBA-25-1
8. Urgent Action              David Miller-15-1

$64,437 Third Elimination

1. Valentino                     George Brennan-6-1
2. Four Starz Trace       Luc Ouellette-8-1
3. I’m Gorgeous              Andy Miller-4-1
4. Allthatgltrsisgold     Dave Magee-10-1
5. Malicious                     David Miller-12-1
6. Rockin Image             Yannick Gingras-7-2
7. One More Laugh       Tim Tetrick-2-1