A downstate horse track will go ahead with plans for a casino, leaving Hawthorne Race Course in west suburban Stickney still waiting to complete a deal for one.
Accel Entertainment recently agreed to buy Fairmount Park Racetrack, now doing business as FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing in Collinsville, for $35 million.
Accel, a video gaming terminal operator, plans to invest $85 million to $95 million for temporary and permanent casinos on the site, while retaining racing, creating a “racino.”
Accel’s five-year plan predicted the facility could generate $20 million to $25 million before paying taxes, debt and depreciation, creating a “compelling cash flow return.”
But five years after legislation allowing them to build a racino, Hawthorne officials again said they still are working on getting financing.
President Tim Carey said they are in “advanced phases” to complete a deal, but an attorney for the company said they could not publicly provide details.
Hawthorne was recently sued by a veterinarian claiming that officials there allowed horses that were sick, injured or lame to run in races. In one case, a horse died just nine days after racing, the lawsuit alleges.
The suit was filed in federal court by Christine Tuma, a vet who had worked part time for Hawthorne for three years before being part of a number of layoffs the track said was due to economic conditions in 2023.
Her judgment of the horses’ lack of health while she was working at the track was overruled by the Illinois Racing Board’s chief veterinarian Dawn Folker-Calderon and another vet, according to the suit.
The horses were at least in some cases kept from racing the day they were examined, but not prevented from racing in the future. The actions allegedly took place over two years and about 75 racing days.
Tuma suggested that knowledge of the unsound horses “may” have been used to place illegal wagers or fix races, the suit says.
Besides Hawthorne, other defendants named in the suit included the racing board, vets and other track officials.
Hawthorne issued a statement calling the suit “false and misguided,” and saying it would vigorously contest it in court.
Hawthorne describes itself as the oldest family-owned race course in North America, and said Tuma is trying to settle professional disagreements with more experienced and accomplished veterinarians.
The Racing Board issued a statement that when officials were made aware of some of the allegations in March 2023, they immediately investigated and alerted federal horse racing authorities.
“We found no credible evidence to support any allegations of wrongdoing at the time, nor have federal authorities made us aware of any substantiated allegations,” the statement read.
True or false, the lawsuit could prevent Hawthorne from getting financing while the legal and financial liability remains a threat, Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association President Jeff Davis said.
He urged state lawmakers this fall to revoke Hawthorne’s extraordinary exclusive authority to open a racino both at its current track in Stickney and in southwest Cook County.
In 2019, legislators greatly expanded gambling in Illinois, and gave Hawthorne veto power over anyone else developing the southwest Cook site.
Since then, other companies have gone through licensing competitions, land acquisition and construction to open temporary casinos in Chicago, and Waukegan, while the Hard Rock Cafe recently opened its permanent casino in Rockford.
Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort opened in downstate Carterville in 2023. Golden Nugget Danville also opened last year. And Wind Creek Chicago Southland casino is under construction in the south suburbs, with plans to open this fall.
Harness horse racers support Revolutionary Racing, which last year opened a $75 million gaming facility in Kentucky, looking at opening a racino in downstate Decatur. The horsemen say they don’t want to take away Hawthorne’s right to build a racino, but want to open it up to competition so a qualified developer could do so.
The controversy comes as Hawthorne had requested a cut in racing dates next year for harness racing.
Since Arlington International Racecourse closed in 2021, it was acquired by the Chicago Bears, who tore the track down to reduce property taxes on the site.
Since then, Hawthorne has kept the racing industry alive by hosting both thoroughbred and harness racing, but without a racino to generate revenue, the industry is dying.
The two types of racing use different types of tracks, so they have to take turns using the facility. Harness racing is reduced to the winter months, while thoroughbred racing gets the rest of the year to race.
“We are not a sustainable industry,” Davis said, “until we get our own tracks.”