Hawthorne meeting restarts with Illinois Racing Board’s blessing
by Neil Milbert
Hawthorne Race Course’s Suburban Downs meeting that began on Nov. 7 will resume on Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 10 and 11) after the first two scheduled programs of the year were canceled last weekend because of the track’s failure to meet the requirements stipulated for 2026 licensing by the Illinois Racing Board at its September dates hearings.
“They were able to correct the deficiencies on Jan. 5 and are now in compliance,” the Racing Board’s executive director, Domenic DiCera, announced in a Jan. 6 press release.
The issuance of 2026 organization licenses for Hawthorne and Suburban Downs applies to betting at the track, advance deposit wagering, intertrack wagering, and betting at Illinois off-track locations in Joliet, Lansing, Prospect Heights, Crestwood, Oakbrook Terrace, Evergreen Park, Hoffman Estates, McHenry, North Aurora, and Villa Park.
DiCera didn’t specify what the requirements mandated at the dates hearing were.
Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association (IHHA) president Jeff Davis was briefed by the Racing Board on Jan. 6.
“They are confident Hawthorne has its house in order and the necessary items are in place to be able to race,” Davis said. “Hawthorne and Suburban Downs are in good standing for the rest of 2026. The bond requirements [for the track and its entities] are nothing unusual. In years past this has been settled by the last couple weeks in December.”
The meeting will continue with Saturday and Sunday racing through Feb. 15. Following a spring/summer/fall thoroughbred meeting the harness horses will return to the Chicago metropolitan area’s only remaining racetrack on Nov. 6 for 20 programs during the calendar year at a meeting that is expected to extend into the first two months of 2027.
Davis discussed with the Racing Board staff the possibility of making up last weekend’s two lost programs “sometime in the 2026 racing year” and is optimistic the IHHA’s request will be granted.
In a major problem unrelated to the cancellations by the Racing Board, Davis discussed the bounced checks issued by Hawthorne in December and early this year to owners, trainers, and drivers.
“One member [of the IHHA] had a $40,000 check bounce; another a $25,000 check; a trainer and his owners claim to have more than $100,000 in bounced checks; and another member has a check for $90,000 that hasn’t cleared,” he said. “If you want me to estimate we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“Some new checks have been issued; some have not cleared.”
Hawthorne is claiming a technical glitch with its financial institution was the culprit but the family-owned track’s president and general manager, Tim Carey, has not elaborated.
Davis scheduled a membership meeting for Jan. 8 “asking anyone who has a bounced check to submit proof and information about fees that are associated.”
He said this information will be relayed to the Illinois Racing Board.
Hawthorne’s financial woes go beyond the bounced checks:
• Dating back to the 2024 fall/winter harness meeting Churchill Downs, Inc. has blacked out its simulcast signal to Hawthorne and its network because of non-payment of fees;
• Liens asserting that the track owes as much as $5 million in unpaid bills for the 2020 demolition of significant portions of the grandstand and clubhouse to facilitate the construction of a casino addition made possible by passage of a major gambling expansion bill;
• Carey initially said a $400 million state-of-the-art casino would open in the spring of 2021 but the project has been in limbo because of his inability to secure financing;
• President Donald Trump’s tariffs have increased prices for steel and building materials and the ante for what originally was a $400 million project is now estimated to be in the neighborhood of $500 million.
The IHHA members are hoping and praying that help will be on the way when the Illinois House of Representatives begins its spring session on Jan. 20.
Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights) is calling on his colleagues to immediately pass Bill 2724 that he is sponsoring and send it to Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign upon receipt.
The bill passed the State Senate on Oct. 30 at the fall veto session by a 49-8 vote.
Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex), the bill’s sponsor in the Senate, at the time emphasized the urgency of its enactment because of Hawthorne’s inability to construct a casino addition.
“They have yet to build a casino at their racetrack in Stickney and yet they still have veto power over a racino in the south suburbs,” Joyce said of Hawthorne. “This bill is intended to move the needle.”
The bill would take away Hawthorne’s right to veto construction of a racetrack/casino within 35 miles of its Stickney location and also allow construction of a harness track/casino in downstate Decatur.
“We believe we have the votes if it’s called [in the House],” DeLuca has been quoted as saying. “We need it to be called immediately so we can get this industry fixed and on the path to prosperity.”
