Harness participants still waiting to see if they will qualify as a “critical vendor” in Hawthorne bankruptcy proceedings
by Neil Milbert
The fate of the $2.5 million owed Illinois harness owners, trainers, and drivers and the $360,000 owed the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association by bankrupt Hawthorne Race Course “remains up in the air,” IHHA executive director Tony Somone said on Friday (March 27).
These people were hoping that Judge Timothy Barnes would declare them “a critical vendor” at Friday morning’s U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Illinois hearing, which presumably would have enabled them to be paid by the debtor-in-possession financing facility, JDI Loans, on April 4.
Instead, according to Somone, after hearing claims from other creditors the judge said, “I need to take time to consider all of these things; we’ll reconvene [for an evidentiary hearing] on Tuesday [March 31].”
The origins of the $1.3 million in overdue purse money and $1.2 million in bounced checks totaling $2.5 million go back to last November and the $360,000 owed the IHHA for the organization’s expenses has accumulated for seven months.
In January, the Illinois Racing Board suspended the license of Hawthorne’s Suburban Downs harness meeting because of the track’s financial woes. None of the 14 programs scheduled for the first two months of the year were held.
When Hawthorne declared for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 27 members of the IHHA and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (ITHA) discovered the amount they were owed was only the tip of a financial iceberg that includes claims by simulcast providers and contractors who demolished a portion of the grandstand in 2020 to prepare for a casino that hasn’t come to fruition.
Estimates of Hawthorne’s indebtedness range from $100 million to $500 million but the line of credit extended by JDI totals only $16 million and its term limit will expire in July. Because Hawthorne’s thoroughbred meeting will begin on April 19 the ITHA members owed $1,108,733 in purse money and $281,844 in bounced checks have been reimbursed as have the three entities that control the simulcast signals from 13 tracks.
However, the next harness meeting — provided the license suspension is lifted — won’t begin until Nov. 6, putting IHHA creditors in a different situation.
“Everybody wants their money,” Somone said. “The more that goes out now is less for them to get when Hawthorne goes to liquidation.”
According to published reports, Penn Entertainment and MGM Resorts International are among those who have expressed an interest in buying the track that has been owned by the Carey family since 2009.
“We are not marketing real estate, though we are getting lots of offers,” Hawthorne’s bankruptcy lawyer, Barry Chatz, testified at the March meeting of the Racing Board. “The plan is to continue racing.”
Hawthorne president Tim Carey reiterated that is his intention.
“The easiest thing right now is just literally to take a bid and sell the property [but] as a family business we’ve chosen not to do that,” Carey told the board. “We’ve chosen to put our own money in so we can go through the process. We believe we can come out of this the right way and continue in horse racing.”
NO NON-BETTING RACING AT FAIRGROUNDS
Because of Hawthorne’s dire financial situation there won’t be any non-betting racing at the State Fairgrounds this year.
In 2022 the Hawthorne purse account began funding the non-betting races at the Springfield State Fairgrounds in 2022 and extended the subsidy to include the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds during the next three years.
Now, all that’s left are the county fair races and the Preview races subsidized by the Department of Agriculture — the first of which will be the race for 3-year-olds and up at Springfield on May 13 and for 2-year-olds at Springfield on June 11.
IHHA LEADERSHIP CHANGE
Jeff Davis has resigned as president of the IHHA and its board of directors and the state’s leading driver, Casey Leonard, has moved up from the vice-presidency to succeed him.
Davis had served as president since September 2023.
“This was not an easy decision,” Davis said on the IHHA website. “Harness racing has been a part of my life since I was a kid going to Quad City Downs, and it has been an honor to serve the horsemen of Illinois during one of the most challenging times our industry has faced.
“We are at a critical moment for harness racing in Illinois. Between the uncertainty surrounding Hawthorne, ongoing legislative efforts, and the overall economic pressures on our industry, the path forward will require focus, discipline and above all — unity.
“My personal and family responsibilities have increased significantly, and I am no longer able to give this role the time, travel, and in-state presence it demands during such an important period.
“Casey will be a strong and capable leader for the industry and I have confidence in his ability to move things forward.”
The next IHHA presidential election will be in September.
Leonard was inducted into the IHHA Hall of Fame earlier this year, following his father, trainer Terry Leonard, who was inducted in 2025.
