Hawthorne opens meet Saturday with low takeout, free data

Two of the lowest takeout pools in North America and access to free data to handicap those opportunities are on offer for bettors during the 78-day Thoroughbred meeting at Hawthorne that begins Saturday in Chicagoland.

Hawthorne will begin its season racing Saturdays and Sundays with a first post of 3:40 p.m. EDT and add Thursdays beginning June 6. The Illinois Derby returns on Sunday, April 21.

Click here for Hawthorne entries and results.

"This is a meeting where we are setup to succeed across the board," racing director Jim Miller said. "We have lowered takeout for players and removed jackpot wagers. ... For horsemen, we are starting earlier on the grass as well as with 2-year-olds, and the schedule works great for those who had headed south for the winter."

Hawthorne made a big splash last year reducing its win-place-show takeout rates to 12 percent. That remains for 2024 with an even lower-takeout bet joining the fray, the $1 place Pick 8 with potential for carryover if nobody picks eight horses finishing in the top two. That bet will be start with race 1 each day along with the early Pick 5. There also will be a Pick 4 on races 2-5 and the last four races each day as well as a late Pick 5 on the last five races.

"Racing needs to offer new wagers, but it has to be wagers people want to play," Miller said in January when announcing the place Pick 8. "With the place Pick (8), people will have to look at the entire card. That was important to us, and the 8 percent takeout gives them an incentive look."

Another incentive is the availability of handicapping data and analysis on the Hawthorne website with Emily Gullikson providing detailed insight on every race each day.

Coverage of the 2024 Hawthorne meeting is made possible via a marketing agreement with the racetrack.