Through the past decades Illinois Harness Racing Hall of Fame horseman Lavern Hostetler has had many memorable nights of racing in his driving career nevertheless there are two that standout above all others:
Lavern’s drive in the summer of 1986 behind the Illinois champion Hothead against the eventual national Horse of the Year Forrest Skipper in the Sportsman’s Park leg of the U.S. Pacing Championship and . . .
. . . When Hostetler stole the show on Super Night 1989 at Sportsman’s in the inaugural program of what would become Illinois showcase evening of harness racing for the next 30-plus years.