Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association

This wasn't easy. Since Hawthorne last ran a Thoroughbred race, checks have bounced to harness horsemen, the Illinois Racing Board pulled the plug on last year's Standardbred meet, the owners have declared bankruptcy, and there still has been no concrete news on when or how a casino might be built at the track. Way back in 2019, legislation was approved that allowed Illinois racetracks to operate casinos. Hawthorne's casino project has remained in limbo ever since. Hawthorne filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Feb. 27, a move that actually helped...

After two days of proceedings in a federal bankruptcy court in Chicago Tuesday and Wednesday, judge Timothy Barnes has authorized the release of funds to pay outstanding wages owed to Hawthorne employees and to pay for the necessary equipment to resurface the track in preparation for a Thoroughbred meet, according to Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA) president Chris Block, who attended the hearings. Hawthorne, and its related companies, filed for a Chapter 11 business reorganization Friday. The filing is built around a "debtor in possession" financing mechanism, which is when...

Though Hawthorne maintenance crews took the first step Monday toward converting the racing surface so that it is suitable for Thoroughbred racing, Illinois horsemen remain skeptical that racing will proceed when the Thoroughbred meet is scheduled to open Mar. 29. Hawthorne officials had testified at a meeting of the Illinois Racing Board that work would begin Monday to change over the racetrack from a Standardbred surface to one that is conducive to Thoroughbred racing. But Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA) Executive Director Dave McCaffrey noted that the only work that...

The extent of Hawthorne Race Course's financial troubles, and with it the enormous ramifications for industry stakeholders in the state, were made glaringly clear during Wednesday's Illinois Racing Board (IRB) meeting. On Monday, the racing board suspended the operating license of Suburban Downs, Inc., which manages Hawthorne's harness meet, for "failure to provide documentation demonstrating its financial integrity, and proof that they can meet the minimum standards" as outlined in state law. According to representatives from the Illinois Harness Horsemen's Association (IHHA) who attended Wednesday's meeting, Hawthorne--which is owned and...

Thursday's Illinois Racing Board (IRB) meeting, at which 2025 race dates were awarded, yielded almost the exact same headline and summation of how the very same commission meeting unfolded last year: Illinois racing is still struggling to recover from the twin blows of the 2021 closure of Arlington International Racecourse and the inability of the state's two surviving Thoroughbred venues--Hawthorne Race Course and Fairmount Park (AKA FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing)--to follow through with building their proposed racinos that were legalized back in 2019. Yet while last year's IRB annual...

Cicero, Illinois is a suburb that hugs the west side of Chicago, and is home to Hawthorne Race Course. It's also the headquarters of Morton High School District 201, which serves approximately 8,000 students from Cicero and surrounding communities. Near the top of the Hawthorne stretch is a Golden Corral parking lot. From this vantage point you can clearly see horses on the track during training or racing. One morning while watching training from here, trainer Chris Block saw a group of Morton High School students gathered by a fence...

Illinois racing is still struggling to recover from the twin blows of the 2021 closure of Arlington International Racecourse and the inability of the state's two surviving Thoroughbred venues--Hawthorne Race Course and FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing--to follow through with building their proposed racinos that were legalized back in 2019. Yet Thursday's Illinois Racing Board (IRB) meeting was conducted with a noticeably welcome tone of cautious optimism, as commissioners unanimously approved 2024 race dates against the backdrop of revamped racino construction schedules at both venues that could mean gaming revenue...

The future of Arlington Park remains very much up in the air, but Roy Arnold is convinced that racing can prosper there and is hopeful that he can spearhead an effort to insure that one of America's most beautiful racetracks remains a racetrack for years to come. Arnold should know. He was the track's president during better times, from 2006-2010, and is currently the president and CEO of Endeavor Hotel Group. Arnold was instrumental in bringing together a consortium interested in purchasing Arlington Park from Churchill Downs. Churchill announced in...

   One month to the date that Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), announced that it intends to sell Arlington International Racecourse near Chicago for "non-horse racing" purposes, the Illinois Racing Board (IRB) Tuesday had its first chance at an open, public meeting to weigh in on that potentially devastating decision. Yet instead of addressing head-on the prospect of Arlington vanishing or proposing ways in which regulators might help to salvage the state's signature Thoroughbred track, the eight IRB commissioners treated the most pressing Illinois racing issue in decades as the proverbial...

With the track having been put up for sale and with parent company Churchill Downs Inc. failing to commit to a meet after this year's season, Arlington Park's days may be numbered. But there may be a flicker of hope. Mike Campbell, the president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, told the TDN that he knows of a number of companies and individuals interested in buying the track and keep it open for racing. "There is interest, for sure, from different parties that wish to keep it just as a...

Churchill Downs announced Tuesday that it has launched a process to sell Arlington Park, which sits on 326 acres of real estate 30 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. The sale will be handled by CBRE Group, a full service commercial real estate firm. Arlington's future looked bleak in September of 2019 when Churchill Downs made the surprising decision to not take the necessary steps to open a casino on the racetrack property. It is widely believed that Churchill did not want to create competition between an Arlington casino and a...

For the second time in four months, the Illinois Racing Board (IRB) Jan. 21 declined a request by the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA) to put $4.9 million of "recaptured" purse funds in escrow so that money can only be collected by Arlington Park if the track runs its entire slate of 68 dates in 2021. During Thursday's IRB meeting, the ITHA restated the same argument it articulated back on Sept. 16, when the 2021 dates were initially granted: that the Illinois racing community doesn't have faith that Churchill Downs,...