Hawthorne Race Course's Fate Rests With Judge as Bankruptcy Sale Nears

Hawthorne Race Course, the last thoroughbred track left in northern Illinois, could shut down for good within weeks after attorneys asked a federal bankruptcy judge Monday to approve the sale of its land to a developer.

At a hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, lawyers for Hawthorne's ownership asked Judge Timothy Barnes to sign off on a deal to sell the Stickney property to Allimac LLC, a Delaware-based company offering $90 million for the site. The company plans to redevelop the land, not run a racetrack on it.

Hawthorne, which opened in 1891, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year listing more than $100 million in debt. Attorneys for the track told the judge that ownership tried to find a buyer who would keep racing going on the property but came up empty. Out of roughly 70 offers received during the sale process, only one was deemed a "qualified bid," and that bid came from Allimac, according to the track's lawyers.

Hawthorne's attorney said ownership wants the sale finalized by the end of July to stop racking up additional debt during the bankruptcy proceeding. That timeline has alarmed people who work and live on the track's backstretch, where hundreds of trainers, grooms and other workers have lived for years alongside the horses they care for.

"We don't have much time to find a good, decent place that we can afford," said Alex Aragon, a worker who lives at Hawthorne. "You know, the majority of us, we just financially struggle."

Chris Block, president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, called the prospect of Hawthorne closing "devastating."

"It's hurtful to see this happen to an industry that's been here forever, and I feel very sad," Block said.

Terry Young, a trainer based at the track, questioned how a city Hawthorne's size could end up without a thoroughbred track at all. "Chicago is the third largest city in the country and we can't have thoroughbred racing? Devastating," Young said.

Attorneys for Allimac told the judge the company is willing to hold off taking possession until Nov. 1. That would give backstretch workers and horsemen a few more months before they would need to leave. Barnes directed both sides to work out financing arrangements that would let workers stay at Hawthorne through that date.

"Allow them a chance to find a home or a new place to go, do their craft of training, racing, or if they wanted to start a new career in something else, but just give them a chance for that," Block said.

Hawthorne Race Course President Tim Carey issued a statement after the hearing making clear that, if the sale goes through, it is the real estate changing hands, not necessarily the end of racing at the site. "Upon court approval, Hawthorne's real estate, not its ongoing business, will be sold," Carey said. "We intend to work with the new property owners to continue racing operations for the foreseeable future, and we will continue to work with the ITHA, the Illinois Racing Board and other state officials to release grant money designated for purses."

Carey said the track would provide more details on the timeline in the coming days as it becomes clearer.

Hawthorne's attorney also told the court that ownership has been in discussions with parties interested in moving racing operations out of Cook County entirely.

The track has operated in the western suburbs for more than 130 years. It survived fires and economic downturns even as horse racing's popularity declined nationwide. Its closure would leave Illinois without a functioning thoroughbred track in the Chicago area. The region's tracks once drew crowds in the tens of thousands.

Judge Barnes did not rule on the sale Monday. Attorneys for Hawthorne and Allimac are expected to return to court with a financing arrangement covering the extended timeline for backstretch residents, with ownership still pushing to close the land sale by the end of July.