Hawthorne Race Course and local horsemen have agreed, pending regulatory approval, to drop the five Sundays of the track's spring Thoroughbred meeting and expand the programs on Fridays and Saturdays.
The agreement comes after Hawthorne received only 57 entries for eight races carded for May 15—before five morning scratches.
Hawthorne spokesman Jim Miller said the philosophy behind the tentative plan "is that adding races to the end of two eight-race cards to make 10- to 11-race cards will do much better for handle generation and purse generation compared to running three eight-race cards.
"This is because handle is so much better later in the day when there is less competition."
Dave McCaffrey, executive director of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, noted the net loss of races comes to four per week.
"No one wants to lose racing opportunities," McCaffrey said, "but adding two races to the remaining race days lessens the hit. Hawthorne has been very good to work with in the past and remained so during this process."
With Arlington International Racecourse closed and its property up for sale, Hawthorne is the only remaining track in the Chicago area. The track is splitting its calendar this year between Thoroughbreds and harness racing. The spring Thoroughbred meeting dates granted by the Illinois Racing Board included two programs per week during April and three per week from May 1 through June 25.
The change will require IRB approval, presumably at the May 19 meeting.
