Managing Partner

Heading the management team and acting as the Managing Partner for the Lime Spyder Racing Team will be Dan Poprawski. Dan has been involved in all aspects of the harness racing industry for over 30 years and his resume in the business is virtually unmatched. He grew up in the Cicero, IL area watching and falling in love with harness racing during its heydays in the 1960s and 70s at Sportsman's Park.

After graduating from DePaul University in 1974 with a Masters Degree in History, Dan followed his love of the harness game and began working for a variety of trainers earning his “P” driver's license at Aurora Downs in 1976 and earning his full “A” driver's license and trainer's license at The Meadows in Pennsylvannia in1977.

After over a decade of juggling racing horses on the Chicago Circuit and teaching and coaching basketball at Morton High School and Morton College in Cicero, Dan began working in the Publicity Department at Maywood Park.

At Maywood, Dan wrote a daily harness racing column in the Maywood program and also instituted several innovative changes in the way past performance lines were presented.

In 1989 he became the Editor/Publisher of a new magazine, Midwest Harness Horse, which covered harness racing all across the Midwest. Midwest Harness Horse was the magazine that introduced such concepts as the revolutionary “open-stretch” or "passing-lane", first utilized by Maywood Park, and now in use by dozens of race tracks all across North America and the "one-turn mile", now in effect at Colonial Downs. 

In 1994, Dan began a 10 year run as a member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association (IHHA) and is also a current member of the Board of Directors for the Illinois Standardbred Owners And Breeders Association (ISOBA). In June of 2004, Dan was named the General Manager of Harness Racing Operations at Hawthorne Race Course. 

At Hawthorne, Dan revitalized their stakes program introducing several innovative series and an extensive Illinois Bred program culminating in the inaugural “Night Of Champions”. In 2006, he inaugurated Grand Circuit racing at Hawthorne with the World Series Stakes. He also introduced the Match Rival wager, oversaw the introduction of Parlay wagering as approved by the Illinois Racing Board and continued his popular “Frog Dooley” handicapping column which began back in 1992. He is probably the only person in Illinois to ever serve on the Negotiating Team for both the horsemen and for track management.

After forging relationships for the past 30 years, Dan now will head the Lime Spyder Racing Team, using his expertise and experience to form business relationships with the most highly respected and successful trainers in the harness racing business.

In addition, Dan has owned and operated an Income Tax Consulting business for the past 30 years which will be invaluable in obtaining the best possible income tax benefits for the membership of the LLC.    

Trainers