Hawthorne bidding deadline extended
by Neil Milbert
Judge Timothy Barnes has bought more time for prospective bidders to submit offers to buy bankrupt Hawthorne Race Course.
After a Delaware-based “stalking horse” bidder, ALLIMAC made a $90 million offer before Judge Barnes in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Northern Illinois on June 25, hoping to get a better offer, he decided to extend the bidding deadline to July 10 and delayed the sale hearing from July 13 to July 20.
A “stalking horse’ bid is a preliminary agreement to sell and to acquire Hawthorne.
A new bidder must offer more money than the shell company that apparently wants to discontinue thoroughbred and harness racing at the only track in the Chicago metropolitan area and tear it down to develop the real estate.
The identity of the “stalking horse” is shielded by Delaware bankruptcy laws.
The Blood-Horse’s Bob Kieckhefer quoted Judge Barnes as saying, “I cannot imagine $90 million will stand. I think the process will be more robust if the real estate bidders are competing with the going concern bidders.”
Hawthorne’s creditors reportedly number 250 and its debt is estimated in the neighborhood of $138 million.
A sale price of $90 million probably would mean unsecured creditors would not recover any money.
Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association president Chris Block said in a Chicago television interview that he is “cautiously optimistic” that Hawthorne will find a buyer who wants to continue racing and add the casino component that 2019 gambling expansion legislation entitles the track to conduct.
In 2020 Hawthorne received permission from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) to become a racino and Tim Carey, president of the family-owned track, embarked on what he said was going to be a $40 million undertaking. A portion of the grandstand was then torn down to launch the racino project but Carey failed to secure financing, leaving an eyesore for fans and unpaid creditors who did the demolition. In the ensuing years he repeatedly assured the Illinois Racing Board (IRB) that he was “right on the cusp” of securing financing but it never materialized and the track’s indebtedness escalated.
Overwhelmed by its mountain of debt, Hawthorne declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 27 after the Racing Board suspended the license of its Suburban Downs harness meeting on Jan. 26 for failing to meet its financial obligations. All 14 of the January and February harness dates were canceled.
The current thoroughbred meeting began on April 19 — three weeks later than scheduled. It is scheduled to run through Nov. 1 and be followed by a Nov. 6-Dec. 27 Suburban Downs harness meeting.
According to Daily Racing Form statistics, handle at the thoroughbred meeting has fallen significantly when measured against the 2025 numbers. On the weekend of June 27, there were 14 live races over two days with an average of 5.6 starter per race and the handle of $755,260 was less than half of last year’s total for the same time-frame.
At the most recent hearing Judge Barnes unlocked $1.9 million in bankruptcy funds, enabling Hawthorne to continue thoroughbred racing through Aug. 1. That increased its debtor-in-funding line of credit liability with JDI Loans from $16 million to about $20 million.
On behalf of Hawthorne, Hilco Real Estate, and Province LLC have contacted nearly 8,000 potential buyers and there have been multiple telephone conferences, in-person meetings, and site visits.
Although the potential to add casino gambling to live and simulcast racing makes Hawthorne more attractive than if it were solely marketed as a racetrack, it’s not as big a deal as it would have been if Carey had been able to implement it after receiving Gaming Board approval six years ago.
In the interim, new casinos have opened in the metropolitan area and temporary facilities also are operating while their owners are building permanent structures. Adding to the possible saturation, slot machines are being proposed at O’Hare and Midway Airports. Midway is located about 15 minutes south of Hawthorne but if there were slots at the airport the number of people who’d go to the racino to kill time during long layovers would dwindle.
