Hawthorne Race Course's severe financial difficulties, including over $580,000 in bounced checks, have jeopardized the future of thoroughbred racing in Illinois. During a recent Illinois Racing Board meeting, horsemen's associations voiced urgent concerns about unpaid purses and the potential cancellation of the 2026 meet scheduled for March 29. Track representatives offered vague optimism about an impending deal but provided few details.
The Illinois Racing Board's Wednesday meeting highlighted the precarious state of Hawthorne Race Course, owned by the Carey family. On Monday, the board suspended the operating license of Suburban Downs, Inc., Hawthorne's harness racing manager, for failing to demonstrate financial integrity as required by state law.
Representatives from the Illinois Harness Horsemen's Association (IHHA) reported that Hawthorne owes more than $580,000 in bounced checks to 66 individuals in recent months. The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA) is similarly owed around $600,000 in payments dating back seven months. ITHA executive director David McCaffrey warned, “There's a very good chance that the last horse race in the Chicago area has been raced. Ever. Imagine that,” referencing the closures of tracks like Washington Park, Arlington, and Maywood.
Hawthorne's 2026 thoroughbred meet is set to begin March 29, but urgency mounted as ITHA members sought assurances it would proceed. Instead, assistant general manager John Walsh, standing in for president Tim Carey who did not attend, urged trust in a potential last-minute deal with an unnamed nearby partner interested in Illinois racing. Walsh stated, “We're working with a new partner, someone nearby, someone interested in Illinois and Illinois racing, who really wants all of this to succeed and move quickly,” adding that developments would occur in the next two or three weeks, with a critical deadline of February 16 to switch from harness to thoroughbred operations.
ITHA president Chris Block expressed "growing alarm" over delays in converting Hawthorne's grandstand into a casino, approved in 2019 but never realized. He noted a decline in backstretch horses from 909 in 2021 to 635 last summer and purses from $19.27 million five years ago to $8.6 million last year—a drop of more than 50%.
IHHA president Jeff Davis criticized Carey's absence as disrespectful and highlighted $414,000 in inaccessible state funds in frozen accounts. He also mentioned a December judgment against Hawthorne by Churchill Downs for $1.64 million, which Walsh disputed, claiming no settlement and a lower amount.
A Standardbred trainer shared the human toll: “We have some trainers in the audience that aren't eating because they're feeding the horses first.” The board indicated it could reinstate licenses if violations are cured and financial standards met. Block affirmed, “We want to race this year at Hawthorne... Only, I hope that Tim and his family are taking the necessary steps to create the correct financial conditions.”
