pardon me for saying but, if you grew up in the suburbs of chicago... and have been to sportsmans... you'd know that hawthorne is across the street!!! close on the city name though - hawthorne is in stickney, IL.
as you already know, i think (LOL), hawthorne is a dump. almost literally as it is a stones through from a waste management facility. dominated by locals and very rarely from a shipper as stakes here are hard to come by... war emblem did come through hawthorne though. but, repent tried too as well but, got injured on the track. ill never forget that... i talked to mcpeek in the grandstand and he said he couldnt believe the condition of the place. this is prior to recognizing repents injury! if im not mistaken, hawthorne does feature the longest stretch in north america.