Families Bringing Thoroughbred Horse Racing to Illinois

About the Book

Although horse racing started in the seventeenth century, high-level horse racing didn’t come to Illinois until 1909. The history of horse racing in Illinois was largely due to families in the horse racing industry. Included is some of the glorious history of famous tracks: Hawthorne, Arlington, and Sportsman’s Park.

About the Author

From the age of reasoning, Roger enjoyed horse stories on the radio (Tom Mix, Hopalong Cassidy) and movie houses (Gene Autry, Roy Rogers). He grew up in a time when horses were a part of everyday life, regularly seen drawing carriages, used for peddler’s wagons, for riding, and as pets. His father had a pet horse that he rode and used in the family business, then became a trainer and owner of Thoroughbred horses; thus Roger’s interest in Thoroughbred horse racing was inherited. He felt that the beginning of racing in Illinois was unknown and untold, so he wanted to research it a vocalize it. Researching, he found that families were the ones who brought horse racing to Illinois. Roger Salvino races horses and lives in Cicero, IL.