Geography Dept.SPORTSMAN'S PARK racetrack was located at 3301 S Laramie Ave in Cicero, Cook County, Illinois. GPS coordinates are: 41° 49' 50" N, 87° 44' 55" W.Racing Highlights.1949 - Harness racing is introduced on July 18th with a 23-night meeting. The first race is won by BILLY ARTHUR and is driven by Robert W. Wagner in 2:20 1/5. The track pacing record is set at 2:05 by HIGHLAND ELLEN while the trotting record is established by HAZEL SPENCER CAP in the time of 2:06 3/5.
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History Dept.The last known year of harness racing at this venue was 2002.There is some discrepancy as to whether Sportsman's Park opened in 1927 or 1928. Either way Sportsman's Park got it's start as a 1/2 mile dog track known as the "Hawthorne Kennel Club". Operated by Al Capone and Eddie O'Hare, the "Hawthorne Kennel Club" closed (year unkown) and was re-opened in 1932 as a thoroughbred racetrack called Sportsman's Park. If my memory serves me right, Sportsman's Park introduced harness racing in 1949. And that's where this historical account of harness racing at the Cicero plant begins.Memory Lane.Forgotten Memories?
It seems that all things related to this once great harness racing
facility have dropped into a black hole and its entire history
erased for all Eternity! It's hard to believe, at
the time of this writing (Dec '07), that Sportsman's Park has been out of
operation for more than 5 years and it's been almost ten years
since the buggies last whirled around the steeply banked, almost
hairpin turns. Gone forever are the hot summer nights of close up
harness racing action, first class
horses, world record miles, and long stretch drives.
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