No Dygert elims needed

Only 10 trotters dropped into the box for the Erwin F. Dygert Trot on Friday, so elimination races will not be necessary. However, nine of those ten will slug it out in a $24,000 prep race for the Dygert Friday night at Hawthorne.

Perhaps the most intriguing storyline leading into the Dygert is the supplemental entry of Battleshoe Victor. The 4 year-old son of Valley Victor was not previously nominated to the Dygert, but after a stellar performance in the $48,500 Eddy Oakley Stakes on the Night Of Champions, owner Mike Polansky and trainer Tom Harmer decided to pony up the $11,000 supplemental entry fee to make their new trotting star eligible to the event. In the Eddy Oakley, Battleshoe Victor was an impressive winner, trotting his mile in a lifetime best 1:53.3.

The horse to beat both this week and next is defending Dygert champ Muscles Marinara. The son of Muscles Yankee shipped into Chicago at the end of May after battling some of the best trotters in the world at the Meadowlands. In his first start back in Chicago he was an impressive 1:54.3 winner in the $15,500 Open Trot at Hawthorne on May 30.

Also entered in the Dygert are Dink Adoo, Dunkster, Photo Color, Plea, Victor’s Pursuit, Life's A Holiday, Elk Creek and American Lane.

Hawthorne’s 2006 Standardbred meet runs May 6 through June 17 with live racing six days per week – Tuesday through Sunday. Post time is 7:20 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

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