Kyle Husted Scores Five Victories in Chicago

Kyle Husted

Altamont’s Kyle Husted continued a sustained comeback in his career as a harness horse driver last weekend in Chicago, scoring five wins at Hawthorne Racecourse in the span of 48 hours.

Husted, who underwent reconstructive knee surgery in January, got things started with a victory on Saturday in the $10,000 Open Trot with Louzotic, before capturing the $45,000 Violet Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies with Fox Valley Exploit. He closed Saturday’s card with a victory behind 13-1 outsider Fox Valley Hijinx, before returning on Sunday to win the $21,000 division of the Violet Stakes for three-year-old trotting fillies with Bee See.

Husted’s most satisfying win might have been one which came later on the Sunday program, when he scored at odds of 15-1 with Dune Dane. The winning pacer was bred by Fair Meadow Farm of Altamont, where Husted’s mother, Pamela Coleman, serves as farm manager.

Effingham’s Darla Martin Lohman also enjoyed success at Hawthorne, training 37-1 longshot Ashlees Spur to a third-place finish behind Fox Valley Exploit in the Violet Stakes. The pacing filly is owned by Dean Debolt of Iuka and Scott Durbin of Dalton City.

Other horses with local and area connections to hit the board in recent action at Hawthorne include Sirius Speedway, who was runner-up Sunday evening by a head as the 7-5 favorite for owner Jon Huddleston of Mattoon, and Fox Valley Lolo, who was third in the $12,000 Walter Paisley Final on Saturday for owner Cathy Finn-Kanitz of Olney.

Still others include Princess Poprocks, third in a $21,000 Violet division on Sunday evening for owners Toni and Keli Bell of Windsor, and Desert Sheik, who was fourth in the $45,000 Cardinal Stakes for three-year-old trotters Sunday night for a partnership which includes Dean Biggs of Altamont.