Significant outstanding sums
Horsemen in Illinois are still waiting for almost $1m in payments as the saga involving the Hawthorne Race Course continues. The track in the Chicago suburbs hasn’t hosted a race yet this year after canceling four consecutive weekends of action. The crux of the issue is frozen bank accounts, which it claims prevent it from paying horsemen.
At an Illinois Racing Board (IRB) meeting on Wednesday, industry stakeholders expressed their frustrations at the situation. Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association (IHHA) President Jeff Davis said that members are due almost $1m in 2025 prize money.
Hawthorne President Tim Carey was a no-show at the meeting
He went on to remark that it’s disrespectful that Hawthorne President Tim Carey was a no-show at the meeting after the board requested his presence to give an update on the financial issues. According to the Paulick Report, the track’s assistant general manager and director of racing appeared, but they couldn’t answer the necessary questions.
Possibly the end of an era
IHHA Executive Director detailed how 66 horsemen had checks totaling more than $582,000 bounce. Hawthorne also lost a judgment recently from Churchill Downs for $1.6m in unpaid simulcast settlement fees for the previous 12 months. There are also six-figure sums owed to the ITHA and IHHA.
Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (ITHA) Executive Director David McCaffrey went as far as saying that there’s “a very good chance that the last horse race in the Chicago area has been raced.”
Harness racing has been a staple in the region since the opening of Hawthorne Race Course in 1891. Other tracks to close in the Chicago area include Balmoral Park and Maywood Park in 2015, and Arlington Park in 2021.
Thoroughbred season up in the air
The harness racing calendar is already in disarray and the thoroughbred races are due to begin on March 29 and run through September 1. Work to transition the track to thoroughbreds is set to begin on February 16.
An announcement about a new prospective racino partner is also expected from Hawthorne around the same time. It has had the option to open such a facility since 2019, but various issues have repeatedly stalled it.
