Hawthorne Race Course president Tim Carey told the Illinois Racing Board Sept. 18 he remains committed to building out a casino at its suburban Chicago location—a project that has been stalled since it was authorized in 2019.
Carey, testifying at the board's annual dates hearing, said Hawthorne believed a year ago it had arranged financing for the project but had to go back to the drawing board.
"I can tell you that we came in here last year with the hope of announcing our project," Carey said. "We had an internal issue that we weren't able to overcome with our investor. We unfortunately had to go back out to the market.
"We have done that. We're committed to doing this project. We are in a very, very good position again this year. We anticipate that we'll be able to make an announcement sometime in the fourth quarter in terms of where we are with the project. We anticipate that if we announce in the fourth quarter, we would be open by the fourth quarter of 2027."
Hawthorne, the last remaining track in the Chicago area since the 2021 closure of Arlington International Racecourse, hosts both Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing, flipping its racing surface twice a year to accommodate the arrangement.
Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Chris Block said timing of casino construction is critical as owners and trainers suffer the effects of declining purses and reductions in racing dates.
"This year is absolutely pivotal," Block said. "It's gotta come really quick here."
ITHA executive director Dave McCaffrey cited figures showing other racing jurisdictions' dependence on gaming revenue to support purses.
"Horse racing cannot stand on its own," McCaffrey said. "I'm a horse guy. I've been a horse guy all my adult life. And it's painful to say that. But it's the reality. There is not a jurisdiction in the country that's doing any good unless it has some sort of supplemental income and 99% of the time, that comes in the form of a racino."
Carey emotionally referred to struggling with competing financial interests weighing down the track, which has been owned by his family for 115 years, citing Hawthorne's commitment to keeping its backstretch available year-round for family housing and medical services, shouldering the burden of legally mandated charitable contributions that once were shared by as many as seven tracks, and paying for the annual modification of the racing surface to accommodate harness.
"We are doing everything we can, as a business, for both breeds ... We're the ones that stuck around. We're the ones that are making it happen, albeit it's not perfect. But we're doing everything we can ... to make it work for both breeds.
"Some people have said to me, 'You're doing too much.' We believe in the industry. It's tough. It's tough."
He later added, "I apologize for getting emotional."
Hawthorne and Fairmount Park, located across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, both reported cooperative effort to work out a 2026 live racing schedule that would minimize overlap, maximize use of limited horse population, and still accommodate harness racing.
At the end of their presentations, however, the tracks remained at odds with both seeking key summer and early autumn dates.
After a short recess, Carey and Fairmount general manager Vince Gabbert announced a compromise which was quickly and unanimously approved by the board. The deal calls for Hawthorne to run 63 programs on Sundays and Thursdays, starting March 29 and continuing through the contested late-October weekends. Fairmount was awarded 57 dates, Tuesdays and Saturdays, from April 14 to Oct. 27.
Hawthorne will host 34 harness dates split between the first two and last two months of the calendar year.
The compromise, said commissioner and former IRB executive director Marc Laino, represented "a breath of fresh air for this industry."
Board chairman Daniel Beiser added, "It worked today. Let it work tomorrow."
Also at the meeting:
- Fairmount, under new ownership since last December, opened its temporary casino in April and reported significant impact on attendance and handle. Gabbert said Fairmount has noted a significantly younger demographic in attendance amid changes and upgrades. The facility will celebrate its 100th anniversary Sept. 19 with the running of the $250,000 St. Louis Derby.
- IRB executive director Dominic DiCera, Block, and Beiser all mourned the recent death of former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar. Edgar was a noted owner and breeder, primarily of Standardbreds but also with Thoroughbred interests and a supporter of the industry throughout his term of office.
