Ahhh, yes ... Opening Day at the old ballpark, when the year is renewed, your friend performs the heimlich on you after you try to swallow the new higher prices of tickets and concessions, balloons are loosed, jets fly over, and the Sox kick off a losing year of truly stunning proportions ...

... quickly causing a young man's fancies to turn to racing, the sweet fresh air of Stickney, and a Spring well spent at the friendly confines of Hawthorne.

The highlight, of course, is the G2 Illinois Derby, this year won by that immortal horse, Cowtown Cat. That's him, walking.

That's him again, winning, only a nose in front of his many stalwart rivals. What a horse! What a training job!

But ... the real reason people came out in droves this year for Illinois Derby Day was ... ANIMAL RACIN' !!!

Yes, it was a Spring of racing to remember.