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CHICAGO — The oldest sports venue in Illinois faced a pivotal moment in court on Tuesday as it navigated bankruptcy proceedings.
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Hawthorne Race Course has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, aiming to restructure its financial obligations and bring in a new investor.
With a rich history spanning 134 years, Hawthorne Park stands as the last remaining horse racetrack in northern Illinois for both thoroughbred and harness racing, following the closure of Arlington Park a few years back.
The bankruptcy filing was submitted late last week.
Despite obtaining a license to incorporate casino gambling on its premises, the family-run business has battled financial difficulties for several years.
They’ve had a series of problems that have prevented them from fully operating that license.
They’ve had to cancel the last two months of the harness racing season.
Hawthorne Park hopes the judge will allow them to run their thoroughbred season starting at the end of March.
Hawthorne is under the gun because the horsemen have to decide quickly this week whether they will race at Hawthorne this season with the thoroughbreds or go to another state.
Hawthorne CEO Tim Carey was on the stand much of Tuesday.
The judge was expected to make a decision about the racing season, possibly Tuesday afternoon at the Dirksen Federal Building.
A lot of people in the horse racing industry are on edge waiting to see what’s going to happen here.
There are hundreds of people involved in the horse racing industry who at this point, rely on Hawthorne for their livelihood in Illinois.
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