A Night at the Races

Saturday, July 16 - Hawthorne Race Course

By Ken Bounds

On a beautiful July evening, Ron & Arlene Blum once again hosted a perennial favorite - A Night at the Races.  This year we were treated to harness racing at Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero.

Around 6:00 pm, the enthusiastic crowd of 25 NIRG members and family began arriving in the Gold Cup Room to begin the night’s festivities.  Little did we realize that there was also a craft beer fest going on as well as a special night of wiener dog racing!

At 6:30 everyone enjoyed the great selection at the delicious buffet.  While we were eating and visiting, most of us went over the race program making our selections for the first and second races.  The favorite won the first race and a few of us were off to a great start.  Since the second race was named for the Northern Illinois Regional Group, we were soon herded down to the winner’s circle for a group photo.  Irene Vinyard and Denise were the lucky two who got to ride in the starter car.  This is always a thrill!

As the evening went on and the races went on, you could hear the shrieks of the lucky few who picked winners and the groaning of the “not-so-lucky” as they tore up their tickets in disgust.  Several of us took advantage of the craft beer offerings and everyone got a kick out of watching the wiener dog races.

When the evening began coming to and end and participants made their way to the exits for the ride home, there were winners (Dawn Zulas did particularly well!) and there were losers, but everyone had a great time and did not leave hungry.  Our thanks go out to Ron and Arlene for a terrific evening of fun and good friends.

Joining in the fun were our hosts Ron & Arlene Blum and Ron’s sister Susan Pestine, Ken & Carolyn Bounds, Joe & Nell Kozmic, Joey Novak & Millie Olds, Dan & Diane Pudelek, John & Este Scheve, Joe & Delice Serritella, John & Barb Slobodnik, Stan & JoAnne Stack, Len & Irene Vinyard, and George & Dawn Zulas with son Tom and his girlfriend Denise.