Hawthorne makes bizarre request

by Neil Milbert

Why is Hawthorne Race Course, a bankrupt Chicagoland track that has stopped racing and is being sold to a Delaware shell corporation that plans to convert the 119-acre property into a real estate development, applying for 2027 Illinois harness and thoroughbred dates?

This past week’s request for Jan. 2-Dec. 26 dates for its Suburban Downs harness racing subsidiary and March 27-Oct. 31 thoroughbred dates is the latest bizarre episode involving Hawthorne, which will have no harness racing in 2026 and which ceased its abbreviated thoroughbred meeting almost four months ahead of schedule on July 19 with $1.3 million in unpaid purses for the final three programs.

The Illinois Racing Board will hold hearings and award dates on Sept. 19 but it seems as though the state’s only remaining racetrack, Fairmount Park, the thoroughbred track and racino across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, is the only eligible entity.

“As of today, Hawthorne has a [2026] license so they can apply but I don’t see how they can be awarded dates,” said Tony Somone, executive director of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association (IHHA). “It seems they’re waiting to partner up with someone to fix their problems.”

Hawthorne filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 27. The track has at least 250 creditors and reportedly they are owed $138 million, although some estimates of the indebtedness are as high as $500 million.

The Delaware shell corporation, Allimac 23, was the only bidder when the Hawthorne auction was held in July and Judge Timothy Barnes of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Northern Illinois approved its $90 million offer.

Judge Barnes allowed the backstretch to remain open until Aug. 31 to enable the thoroughbreds remaining in the stable area to train and give the workers living on the backstretch time to relocate.

Closing is scheduled for early September.

“We have no idea how Hawthorne, which will formally lose possession of its track at the time of the closing, intends to host a race meet,” said Chris Block, president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (ITHA), concurring with the IHHA’s Somone. “We do not have any additional details to help explain the inexplicable.”

Tim Carey, the president of family-owned Hawthorne, has not responded to numerous requests for comment.

In a statement Carey said: “We will continue to host inter-track wagering at our network of [11] betting bars and we will absolutely explore every available option to once again host racing.”

Based on the rules and regulations contained in the Illinois racing statute, the only way those things could happen in 2027 is if the sale to Allimac falls through at closing, bidding is reopened, and an entity that wants to continue racing wins and activates the dormant casino license Hawthorne was awarded by the Illinois Gaming Board in 2020.

The law prohibits a license being issued “to any person who does not at the time of application for the organization license own or have a contract or lease for the possession of a finished racetrack.”

“Maybe they’re thinking the closing may not take place,” Block speculated. “But, with that said, there’s no money to keep the track going.”

Another impediment is that Carey’s credibility appears suspect after announcing plans for a $40 million casino in 2020 and beginning the teardown of a portion of the grandstand, the project stalled. For five straight years Carey and his representatives at Racing Board meetings and dates hearings assured the board members he was “right on the cusp” of securing financing but it never came to fruition and last fall checks began bouncing.

Somone is skeptical of Carey’s ability to continue to host inter-track betting.

“Even the end of this year [after the closing] is a little bit debatable,” the IHHA executive director said. “That’s a maybe.

“I would assume but don’t know for sure that every penny of profit [for Hawthorne] is going to go to the creditors. And if they don’t own the track, how can they get a license for the parlors next year?”

The racing community is hoping the Racing Board will clarify the situation when it meets on Aug. 19.

There have been published reports that Allimac 2023 wants to transform the track property into a data center but obstacles have emerged.

The trustees of Cicero, the south suburban Chicago community across the street from Hawthorne in Stickney, passed a resolution opposing development of a data center and last Tuesday officials in Stickney followed suit.

Whether or not this will impact the closing remains to be seen.