Following the conclusion of the spring thoroughbred season at Hawthorne, the track crew embarked once again on the racing surface conversion. As the only pari-mutuel track left in the United States to convert from a dirt thoroughbred surface to a limestone harness track, crews worked tirelessly stripping off dirt, removing rails, clearing barns and prepping the new surface, all in 96 hours, to prepare for the start of the summer harness season. Everything was prepped in time for horsemen to arrive on Saturday, May 1 as the summer harness season kicked off on Friday, May 7.
When racing commenced on opening night, driver Kyle Wilfong was ready to pounce. Wilfong kicked off the racing season winning the meet opener behind Surreal Art (1:53) for trainer Perry Smith. That victory started a string of four straight trips to the winner’s circle for Wilfong as he drove home Nora Tova (1:55.3), Wildcat Delight (1:55.1) and Castle Flight (1:52) to wins in races two through four. Wilfong made it five victories on the opening night card as RSVP trotted home in 1:58.2 for trainer Nicole Agosti to take race eight.