No Takers to Keep Racing Going at Hawthorne

A last-ditch effort to preserve racing at Hawthorne Race Course apparently fell short as a scheduled auction of the historic Chicago-area track reportedly was called off July 14 as there was only one offer—$90 million from a bidder planning to demolish the track for industrial development. The decision is not final until U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Timothy Barnes conducts a sale hearing, set for July 20. And, should the track in fact be forced to cease racing, many operational details would need to be worked out, including the fate of some 450 employees and their families' living on the backstretch. The final days of bidding were cloaked in secrecy and none of the principals were immediately available to confirm the status or for comment. Several sources, however, said lawyers for Hawthorne and its many creditors had gathered to conduct the auction, only to disperse when there was no decision to be made. The sole bidder, identified by name only earlier in the bankruptcy proceeding, is a Delaware-registered entity. Its ownership is shielded by that state's laws. Hawthorne president and CEO Tim Carey told the June meeting of the Illinois Racing Board that, if no one bought the tracks as an ongoing business, he would hope to continue the current Thoroughbred meeting, slated to run through Nov. 1. The source of purse money for such an extended meet is in question, though. Hawthorne accountants said after their last court update bankruptcy funding could take them through July 20. An emergency motion by the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association to free up a last-minute $1.125 million from the state Horse Racing Purse Equity Fund is before the court, but a hearing on that issue also was delayed until July 20. "The worst-case scenario for the horsemen is the complete cessation of Thoroughbred racing at Hawthorne," the ITHA said in its filing. "In hopes of minimizing the pecuniary harm to the horsemen, the Illinois Department of Agriculture has agreed to promptly pay $1,125,000 … for the benefit of Hawthorne's future purses, in particular, the July 19 and July 26, 2026, races. Any unused Purse Funds following the future races, whether in July, August or beyond, will be returned to the IDA." Hawthorne currently conducts racing on Sunday only. The July 12 program had 10 races with purses totaling $211,500. Carey told Barnes repeatedly throughout the bankruptcy proceedings that he had received and rejected offers of more than $100 million from entities interested in continuing racing and developing a racino at Hawthorne. He also told regulators annually between 2020 and last September that he was very close to a private deal that would restart the racing project but that funding never materialized. The sole bid reportedly does not include some off-site property owned by Hawthorne. Hawthorne's financial woes cascaded from its initial efforts to build a racino on its own after getting a preliminary go-ahead from the Illinois Gaming Board in 2019. A demolition of the grandstand came to a standstill when funding dried up and the project was never restarted. With debts lingering from that effort and other unpaid bills mounting, the track turned to more and more borrowing until its banker froze its accounts at the end of 2025. That resulted in a blizzard of bounced checks, followed by a suspension of the track's harness racing license. The track and associated entities filed for Chapter 11 protection Feb. 27. An end to racing at Hawthorne would leave the Chicago area without an operating track. The only other Illinois track, Fairmount Park in downstate Collinsville, currently conducts Thoroughbred racing and could expect an influx of horses. It also would leave Standardbred horsemen without an Illinois venue. At the same time it approved racinos, the Illinois legislature authorized a harness-only track in specific townships in the south Chicago suburbs—but gave Carey a veto on any such plans. At least one developer is waiting in the wings to apply for that license should Hawthorne lose the veto.