Hawthorne Race Course was forced to temporarily halt operations this past weekend for failing to meet licensing requirements, regulators said, and operators in the horse racing industry said its checks have been bouncing.
The track in west suburban Stickney has been beset by financial troubles, including liens seeking to recover unpaid debts, and its inability to open a proposed casino.
The failures have prompted harness racing participants to renew their call for state legislation to revoke Hawthorne’s veto power over any competing new racino in the south suburbs.
The Illinois Racing Board confirmed that the track was unable to open the first weekend of this year due to its failure to meet the requirements to obtain an operating license for 2026, including various surety bonds to cover the track’s financial obligations.
“Over the weekend, they were able to correct the deficiencies and are now in compliance,” the racing board announced in a statement Monday. Racing and off-track betting were expected to resume this coming weekend, but horse owners and trainers remained alarmed about the track’s finances.
“For the second time in a matter of weeks, the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association has been made aware that checks issued by Hawthorne Race Course have been returned unpaid by banks,” the association said on its website. “This is another embarrassing failure of Hawthorne Race Course.”
Hawthorne President Tim Carey has assured both the horse industry operators and the racing board that the funds are available and that everyone will be paid, the group reported.
“This is a positive development, to be sure, but the recent events relating to Hawthorne’s financial condition are deeply troubling,” the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association said. “The ITHA remains gravely concerned.”
Track officials didn’t immediately return requests for comment. Carey has noted that his track has kept racing alive in Illinois since the closure of Arlington International Racecourse in 2021. He repeatedly has told the racing board that he is working on getting a deal to build a new racing and casino facility, or racino, but has been unable to do so more than six years after state lawmakers authorized it.
Hawthorne’s previous proposal to build a racino in the south suburbs also fell through. Other operators have proposed building a new racino, and lawmakers are considering a measure to take away the extraordinary power they gave Hawthorne to prohibit any competitor from building a harness racetrack and casino in the area.
The thoroughbred association reported a significant decline in betting at Hawthorne in 2025, to $51 million, down from a handle of nearly $90 million in 2024, mostly from a drop in out-of-state simulcast betting, and a reduction in purses from nearly $11 million to $8 million.
Hawthorne also temporarily halted its off-track betting on the Kentucky Derby last year after a dispute over payments to Churchill Downs Inc.