Abstract: A hitch system for connecting utility attachments, such as mower decks, to lawn and garden tractors. A pair of J-shaped hooks are attached to the front axle assembly to the tractor. An elongate hitch bracket, having a handle at its forward end, it pivotally connected to the forward end of the mower deck. A hanger rod extends across the hitch bracket and engages the hooks so that the hitch bracket and mower deck ar trailed behind the front axle of the tractor. A user-releasable latch helps retain the hanger rod within the hooks and can be released while the user grasps the handle. The handle provides a convenient means for manipulating the mower deck as it is connected and disconnected from the tractor.