Hawthorne Again Contends a Racino Deal is Imminent
Before the Illinois Racing Board, Hawthorne's Walsh Predicted Resolution in the Next Few Weeks
John Walsh, assistant general manager at Hawthorne Race Course, appeared before the Illinois Racing Board on Wednesday and reaffirmed the track's commitment to building a racino. He said — as track officials have said repeatedly since the Illinois legislature authorized a casino for Hawthorne nearly seven years ago — that such a deal is imminent.
Tim Carey, Hawthorne's president and general manager, did not appear at the IRB meeting. ITHA officials were surprised and highly disappointed with his absence from a hearing that very much focused on the future of Hawthorne and its role in hosting our sport and industry.
The IRB did not take any formal action specific to Hawthorne, other than postponing its vote on whether to approve racing officials for the thoroughbred meet scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 29.
Excerpts from news coverage of the IRB meeting appear below.
The Paulick Report noted:
Walsh said Hawthorne is close to a deal with an unnamed partner on a casino – something track officials have been saying since 2020. [...]
"As far as I'm concerned,” Walsh added. “I’ve never been so optimistic in the last four years, because we're dealing, I think, with a group that is very, very much in touch with what's needed and is willing to go forward.”
Thoroughbred Daily News added:
“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,” said Walsh. “Whatever's going to happen is going to happen in the next two or three weeks.”
The Chicago Sun-Times noted:
Hawthorne director of racing Jim Miller said the race course is on track for the thoroughbred race. They’ve received about 800 applications for stalls and the number of horses competing this year would be “very similar” to last year.
Multiple IRB commissioners expressed frustration with Hawthorne's continued delays. Paulick noted:
Marc Laino, an IRB member, urged the Board to get more involved in getting horsemen paid, adding that Hawthorne is continuing to earn revenue from simulcasting at its OTB facilities while the harness meet has been shut down. The IRB's executive director, Dominic DiCera, said "the bank is controlling the process."
Laino replied: "Can't we as a board, as the regulators who control (Hawthorne's) license, direct those funds, any remaining revenues that are being generated, into a segregated account for distribution to an equitable and fair distribution in the interim, until this magical financing agreement comes through?"
ITHA President Chris Block spoke on behalf of thoroughbred owners and trainers. Blood-Horse reported:
"We want to race this year at Hawthorne," Block said. "But to be clear, our greatest fear at this time would be to start the Thoroughbred meeting at Hawthorne on Sunday, March 29, only for Hawthorne then to abruptly end the meeting because it cannot pay the purses. That would be catastrophic for our members.
"Thoroughbred owners, trainers, and breeders are business owners. They make business decisions. The business decision they're making right now is where to race this spring, summer, and fall. We absolutely must avoid a circumstance where our members commit to race at Hawthorne, move their horses there only to be stranded because the meeting had a premature ending. Our members would have nowhere to go then."
He urged the IRB to take action if Hawthorne does not