Future of harness racing in Illinois continues to be grim
by Neil Milbert
The future of pari-mutuel harness racing in Illinois has become increasingly precarious after the Illinois legislature adjourned its spring session without voting on a bill that would have legalized a track/casino complex in downstate Decatur.
Bankrupt Hawthorne Race Course in south suburban Chicago remains the only harness track left in the state but the Carey family has yet to finalize a deal with a partner to perpetuate racing and introduce casino gambling there while offers also have been made to convert the property into a real estate development.
Members of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association (IHHA) were cautiously optimistic in the week prior to adjournment after Rep. Bob Rita and Rep. Lisa Hernandez co-sponsored House Bill 5469 calling for legalization of the proposed Decatur Downs racino, and elimination of the ban on a new track being constructed within 30 miles of Hawthorne.
A similar bill passed the Illinois Senate by a 49-8 vote last fall so if the House had passed Bill 5469 it seemed almost certain that the Senate would also have given its approval.
The following post on the IHHA website expressed the frustration of the organization’s executive committee, which had lobbied long and hard for the legislation.
“There was plenty of finger pointing to the reasons why [legislators were blaming other legislators] but none of that matters now,” the post on the IHHA website said. “We are still trying a few ‘Hail Mary’ type plays but we are not confident that they will be successful. This is incredibly disappointing to all of us. At this point in time, we can only hope that Hawthorne will find a partner before the mid-July date in bankruptcy court and we can continue to race in November.”
Because of Hawthorne’s inability to pay its figurative mountain of bills all 14 of the track’s Suburban Downs harness dates in January and February were canceled and the Illinois Racing Board suspended its license on Jan. 26.
The suspension didn’t affect the Hawthorne thoroughbred meeting but after the track filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 27 the start of the ongoing thoroughbred meeting was delayed from March 29 to April 19.
The thoroughbred meeting is scheduled to run through Nov. 1.
Then, Suburban Downs is scheduled to conduct a Nov. 6-Dec. 27 meeting. However, that is contingent on Hawthorne finding a partner that wants to continue racing and capitalize on the opportunity to conduct casino gambling at the site under provisions of the massive gambling expansion law the legislature approved in 2019.
Hawthorne announced plans for a $40 million racino in 2018 and began demolition of the grandstand in 2020. But the project stalled because track president Tim Carey was unable to secure financing, leaving an eyesore at the premises and a lien of $5 million because of unpaid bills from creditors who did the teardown.
If Carey sells the family-owned 107-acre property to a real-estate developer in mid-July the only pari-mutuel harness racing scheduled for Illinois this year will be at the State Fair in Springfield on Aug. 13, 14, 15, 19, and 20 and at the State Fair in DuQuoin on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 and 2.
If the Decatur Downs racino bill had passed Conor Lucas and his father, Larry, who are the principal prospective investors, planned to begin racing at the track in 2028.
One of the apparent reasons House Bill 5469 wasn’t voted on was because legislators were preoccupied with the Chicago Bears’ proposal to get massive tax breaks to build a state-of-the-art stadium and entertainment destination on the site of the former Arlington International Racecourse and prevent the team from agreeing to a sweetheart deal in Hammond, IN, just across the state line.
But the Bears’ bid — like that of the Decatur Downs racino — was unsuccessful.
The National Football League team bought Arlington for $197.2 million in 2023 from Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) for $197.2 million in 2023 with the stipulation that there be no racing or casino gambling on the premises. It was an obvious attempt to wipe out competition for the state’s most profitable casino, the nearby Rivers Casino in which CDI holds a 62 per cent interest.
In order to lower their taxes, the Bears demolished what Architectural Digest described as “the world’s most beautiful racetrack.”
The loss of Arlington left dual-purpose Hawthorne as the only racetrack in the Chicago metropolitan area. The only other track remaining in the state is Fairmount Park, which conducts thoroughbred racing and casino gambling in Collinsville, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.
