The Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap is a Grade III race for thoroughbred horses run at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Illinois each year. The Hawthorne Gold Cup trophy has always been made of solid gold. The Hawthorne Gold Cup is currently a Grade III event for three-year-olds and up, at one and one-quarter miles (ten furlongs) on the dirt, and currently carries a purse of $250,000. In 1959, Day Court, ridden by Henry Moreno, set a new track record in winning the race, a record that stood until Ron Turcotte broke it again in 1970 aboard Gladwin. In 1979, the race was run at 9 furlongs.