I’m no Crocodile Hunter, or even a Jack Hanna.

The last time I was near an animal larger than me was when I took a mule ride into the Grand Canyon earlier this year. Before that? Let’s just say there’s a picture of me on a horse, but I was too young to remember the ride.

That explained the nervous jitters I had July 18 at Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero. That was the day I “drove” a horse, for lack of a better term.

For racing enthusiasts looking to go beyond the cycle of the betting line and the concession line, Hawthorne offers a unique opportunity: The chance to become a professional racer.

The Harness Racing School, which began on a trial basis last year, has exploded in popularity in its second season, and it’s easy to see why.

“There are so many people who are already harness racing fans who want to do it,” said Dakota Schulz of Brookfield, the marketing mastermind who dreamed up the idea and said fans have come from Indiana and Michigan to get in the saddle.

After a crash course on harness racing basics and few minutes warming up with my professional rider Al, we returned to the crushed limestone track for the big race, and the butterflies in my stomach were threatening to bust out completely.

Would I have my Ben Hur moment, as racing school professor Mitch Demick of Naperville said? Or would I simply rub wheels and cause a scene for the hundreds in attendance?

As it turned out, neither.

Once the gate car (Hawthorne uses a “rolling start” for harness races) let myself and four fellow harness school graduates loose, the thrill of the moment took over.

I immediately went into jockey mode, biding my time along the rail and waiting to make a break around the final turn. My horse didn’t want to go and I finished in fifth (a.k.a. last) place by at least 20 lengths, but it was a thrilling escapade that I’d recommend for anyone looking for something out of the ordinary — a truly unique once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

The Hawthorne experience was intensified for me in yet another way later in the day.

I’m not a long-forgotten Puritan, but before my day at the track I had never legally gambled.

Never set foot on a casino floor.

Never attended a horse race.

Never even entered a parking lot of an OTB (which, coincidentally, was started in Illinois by Hawthorne President and General Manager Tim Carey, a fourth-generation owner of the track).

I figured it would be easy for me to catch the gambling bug, to “win” by betting more money after I had already lost, so it took me some time to work up the courage to get to the betting window.

The third race was my first foray. I saw a good buy on a horse with 8-1 odds driven by what I was told was an experienced driver.

I placed a $2 bet to win. The horse finished eighth.

Undeterred, and apparently supremely confident for some reason, I went back and bet on the fifth race. I bet $3 on a horse to win and $3 on one to show (the horse that finishes third). I got the win and almost the show. I walked away with $4.50, enough for a couple hot dogs and an adult beverage.

You won’t find prices like that at a ballgame in Chicago, and you also won’t find the opportunity to get this close to the athletes. On the apron abutting the track viewers get an up close and personal look at just how majestic and powerful the horses are.

No sporting event I’ve ever been to was quite like my unforgettable night at Hawthorne, and I doubt much will come close.

Will I go back soon? It’s a safe bet.