We have continued to have birds return every day including today.  We have turned the clock off as of Sunday evening.  

If you would like your birds back and have not yet contacted us, please do so by Wednesday, November 2nd.  Wednesday will be the last day to claim birds as we will be sorting through the birds Thursday - Sunday and we will begin shipping birds' home on Monday, November 7th.  
Please DO NOT call or text Jim to get birds back.  All return shipping is being handled and organized by the office.  We will need to basically write a ticket for the return and get your birds added to the list of claimed birds.  The office is open from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm CST to call.  You may also send an email to hoosierclassicrace@gmail.com to request birds back. 
Return shipping is as follows:
1 Bird - $65
2 Birds - $75
3 Birds - $85
Anything over 3 birds will require an additional box. 
Shipping can be paid via Credit Card, Paypal or check.  Birds will not be shipped without payment
All birds will be returned in NEW Horizon boxes. 

I will begin writing checks this week for prize money that has had a W9 submitted.  Prize money being paid out over $600 will require a W9.  Please make sure that your address is correct on the W9, as this is where your check and your tax form will be mailed to.  Pictures of W9 forms are not acceptable, as this is a document that needs to be turned into our accountant.  If you're going to email a form, please make sure it is a scanned copy. 

The photos of the Top 100 winners are almost completed.  We should get the final few photos back by tomorrow and have them up on iPigeon.  
Pedigrees are also needed for the Top 100.  If you have not submitted a pedigree, please do so asap.  
A pedigree must be submitted to receive proceeds from the auction. 

Office Number to claim birds: 219-733-0011

Link to W9 Form:  Printable W9

Congratulations to all the winners on yesterday's final race, especially the 5 birds on the drop.
V.Perez Loft had the first bird in the clock winning $111,000, followed by LMJustin Loft, LFL-GFF, El Dorado Loft of Canada, and Andy & Tina Li, all winning $86,000 each. LMJustin Loft was also the winner of the Ladies Trophy.

Fleet Washington winning 1st Place Average Speed, followed by Fire Fly Farms, who also took 1st Place Knockout.  Sikon Loft had 3rd Place Average Speed along with the 2nd Place Knockout, and Croatan Loft winning 4th Average Speed and 3rd Place Knockout.

Congratulations to Andy Skwiat as well, having 8 bird's placing in the money, 4 of them in the top 100!!


We have received several calls today regarding a 400 mile race.  We will not be hosting a 400 mile race this year.  The weather has been very unpredictable this year, with drastic temperature changes, high winds, and rain.  We unfortunatley can't control the weather and in the Midwest in October you can sometimes experience all 4 seasons in a weeks' time. 

With that being said, we would like to Thank Everyone who participated in the 2022 season.  We hope that everyone that attended this past weekend's events enjoyed themselves.  

The top 100 birds will need to have the pedigrees submitted for the auction.  As a reminder you only get auction proceeds  IF a pedigree is submitted.  They can be emailed, or originals sent in the mail.  If you send directly to iPigeon, we will also need a copy for shipping purposes.  

Everyone that has won prize money will require to submit a W-9 for prizes $600 and over.  You can email a W-9 or mail an original "SIGNED" copy through the mail.  PLEASE DO NOT SEND A "PHOTO" of a W-9.  
For accounting purposes, we WILL NOT hold prize money for next year.  All prize money will need to be paid out before December 25th.  

If you would like your bird(s) shipped back, we ask that you call the office beginning on Friday.  We are short a person in the office the rest of the week and would be easier to start taking the requests Friday so we can work on the pedigrees for the auction Wednesday and Thursday.
Shipping fees will be as follows
1 Bird - $65
2 Bird - $75
3 Bird - $85
Anything over 3 birds will require another box.  We will be using NEW boxes from Horizon Micro Environments.   Shipping can be paid for by deducting from Prize Money, Check, or Credit Card (processing fees apply for credit cards)

Mailing address:
10258 S 1150 W
Wanatah, IN  46930

Office Number 219-733-0011

This week the birds have been loft flown on Wednesday, trained on Thursday 46 miles, & trained on Friday 46 miles, in preparation for the final race on Monday.
(Birds arrived home today and we have had 2 visits from hawks since they've come back.  It has the birds still flying currently)

We are about 3 days away from the final race for the 2022 season, with the birds being shipped on Sunday.  We have received several emails regarding the schedule for the final race. 
Below is an itinerary for the weekend events.

Saturday:
Ganus Family BBQ & Auction
0499 S. Holmesville Rd
LaPorte IN  46350
Gate opens - 2:00 pm
Lunch Served - 3:00 pm
Auction Starts - 5:00 pm

Sunday:
Basketing at the Loft - 1:00 pm (Light Lunch Served)
10258 S 1150 W
Wanatah, IN  46390

Banquet Dinner to follow - Dinner served 5:30 pm
Drinks served throughout the night
Loft  Auction - 6:30 pm (in person only)
4 Bird  Benefit Auction (in person only)
On Tuesday October 4th, Angie Oehman & her 14 yr old son Joey were killed in a tragic car accident while going to school.  Our 3 sons have grown up playing sports and attending school with this family. 
Angie leaves behind her husband, an older son, and a young daughter.
All proceeds from this auction will be donated directly to the family.
The Hoosier Classic Family will be donating a bird for this auction, along with Andy Skwiat, Mike Ganus, & Tom Schilling.

Monday:
Race Day 
Gate opens 11:30 pm
Lunch Served - 12:30 pm
Drinks served throughout the day 


If you plan on attending either days events and would like to purchase Vita King Products and know what you need, please call the office today (Friday) to place an order and have it ready.  
We will have it ready to be loaded when you arrive
Office - 219-733-0011

Congratulations to all of yesterdays winners, especially Mrs. Olivia Herrera (Aztec Loft), for having the 1st bird in the clock and winning $5000.

Yesterday the birds started out with a head/shoulder wind and had to battle what became a very strong side wind.  Weather conditions here have not been great.  We have been dealing with high winds for several days with no signs of it letting up.  
I am very proud of all the day birds yesterday. We had gusts of wind up to 20 mph here at the loft. I don't think there is anything they can't fly through after yesterday.  

We have continued to see birds come home this morning and have also seen a few hawks make a visit. 

Within the next few days we will email out information for the upcoming final race including event locations, times, and what's in store. 

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

The birds were basketed for Race 3, set for tomorrow Saturday October 15th.  We are set for an 8:00 am CST release.  The weather tomorrow looks to be a slight head/shoulder wind at release with it turning to a side wind around the 125-mile mark.  We have been monitoring the weather all week and have watched it change every few hours.  Sunday is calling for a 10-20 mph west wind and Monday is a 10-20 NW wind, with rain both Monday & Tuesday.  Our conclusion was that tomorrow is the better of the days without going into the later part of next week.  

There are prizes on tomorrow's race by clocking order:
1st Place - $5000
2nd - 35th Place $1000 each

Good Luck Everyone

There were 63 birds on the drop yesterday for the 2nd Hoosier Classic Race.  
Congratulations to Dani Cicio for having the 1st Bird in the clock.  Dani  has been flying with us since our 1st year back in 2013.  He is also a top flyer in Chicago, dominating the Windy City Race in 2021.  Hopefully, he will have room for some of our birds at his new loft for the 2023 season.  
While we are talking about Chicago fanciers, Congratulations to Rico LLamzon, winner of Sunday's Windy City Classic Race!

Also, if anyone is talking to Tom Schilling, can you please remind him that there is NOT a trophy for 4th place on the 165 mile race..

Birds are still coming in and all from the north.  We have rain for a few days coming in.  We should be able to train by Thursday.  We will continue to update throughout the week. 

The birds arrived much faster than anticipated today.  We watched the forecast closely for a week and it forecasted southwest winds 5-10 mph.  We have had wind gusts well over 15 mph today.  First groups of birds came right on line. After 450-500 birds having arrived home, the birds started to come out of the north, which is an overfly.  Winds are still strong here.  Birds would not have raced if they were unhealthy.  They looked and felt good.  We are disappointed with the returns as we are sure some of you are.  We feel confident with the health of the birds that we will see many more return.  

We will update again in a day or 2. 

Thanks,

Jim

The birds have been basketed for Race 2 - 165 miles, for tomorrow Monday 10/10. 
We are scheduled for an 8:00 am CST release.  Should be a beautiful sunny day tomorrow with very light wind. 

Best of Luck to everyone!

The birds have been loft flown yesterday and again today.  We were expected to have rain today which is about to come through soon.  Wind today is about 14 mph out of the north and we have seen about a 15 degree temperature drop from yesterday to today. 

Our plan is to road train tomorrow, and allow the birds to rest Sunday, and race on Monday.  The weather looks to be the best on Monday with sunny skies and very little wind.  

There have been a few payments returned from fanciers for activation payments.  If any outstanding payments are not resolved before Sunday we will sell the birds.