Illinois enacted a sweeping law in 2019 to allow casinos at horse racing tracks, known as racinos. Nearly five years later, Hawthorne Race Course, a main beneficiary of the legislation, still hasn’t opened a racino. In the meantime, the industry is dying for lack of money.
Part of that legislation gave Hawthorne officials an extraordinary monopoly: They have the sole power to veto any proposal to build a harness track with a casino within 35 miles.
Out of desperation, the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association is now calling for the state to end Hawthorne’s veto power. The horsemen say the favoritism for Hawthorne has led to a dead end, and it’s time to let the free market finally build a racino.
“Our industry is being held hostage by Tim Carey’s family, who owns Hawthorne,” association President Jeff Davis said. “We have to have a dedicated harness track.”
Carey proposed a $400 million racino to open at Hawthorne in 2021. In 2022, he again promised construction would begin that year. Last fall, Carey told the Illinois Racing Board it would open by the end of 2024, but in February, he said he was still working on getting financing.
Asked for an update, Hawthorne issued a statement:
“We remain fully committed to developing a new harness track to complement racing at Hawthorne, as was intended in the legislation. We are the only Illinois business with the proven experience, integrity and wherewithal to do so. Our $400 million redevelopment of Hawthorne is the most significant investment ever made into the Illinois racing industry and is the beginning of an exciting new future for the tens of thousands of jobs that we support across the state.”
State law names seven townships in southwest Cook County where one harness track with a casino may be built. Other proposals have surfaced to build a racino in those townships.
Last year, Greenway Entertainment Group proposed a harness track in Richton Park, and an end to Hawthorne’s veto power. This spring, businessman Ronald Awsumb proposed a thoroughbred track in the same town, though industry observers questioned whether the law would allow that.
President and General Manager of Hawthorne Race Course, Tim Carey, left, and Playing In The Park official, Rick Heidner, speak before the Illinois Racing Board on Sept. 17, 2019, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
In response, Hawthorne officials said they had never been approached about any legitimate, fully funded project seeking to develop a racino within 35 miles.
To generate revenue and get a racino off the ground, horsemen have proposed that Hawthorne seek investment partners or open a temporary casino, as Waukegan and Rockford casinos have done. Carey said he “very easily” could have put slots in at the track, but wanted to emphasize racing over the casino.
Carey proposed a new south suburban harness track in 2019, partnering with video gaming owner Rick Heidner. But a Tribune story questioned the funding source for the project, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker refused to sell state land for the site, causing the plan to fall through.
The Carey family has kept racing alive in Illinois after Churchill Downs Inc. closed Arlington International Racecourse. It has split the track’s season between harness and thoroughbred racing.
But standardbred horses, who pull two-wheeled sulkies, have been relegated to racing in fall and winter, while thoroughbreds get the prime dates in spring and summer. Thoroughbred racing also generates far more revenue than harness racing.
Horses come and go on the track on April 6, 2024, at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)
Harness driver and trainer Casey Leonard at Leonard Stables in Harvard on March 5, 2024, Harness racing owners, trainers and drivers are pushing for state lawmakers to take away Hawthorne race track’s veto power over new racinos in the Chicago area. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, which depends on Hawthorne for its racing season, and which runs on $11 million the Careys have paid into purses, is officially staying out of the debate over Hawthorne’s veto.
“We’d love to see the harness guys have their own track, and we could run at our track,” thoroughbred association President Chris Block said. “But this doesn’t help us get a racino built at Hawthorne.”
But the harness horsemen said they need action now, though passing legislation in an election year is difficult.
“We don’t have anymore time to wait,” Davis said. “The time has run out.”
Casey Leonard, a top harness driver and trainer, said many trainers and breeders have left Illinois while purses have dwindled by 75% in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, states that have added racinos, such as Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, are thriving.
“Who’d have thought we’d look back (a decade ago) as the good old days?” he said.
