Balmoral’s final ride

The future of Balmoral Park is still up in the air after an atmosphere of sadness and nostalgia hung over what presumably was the final night of racing Saturday at the historic Crete horse track.

The owners of Balmoral and a sister track, Maywood Park, which closed this fall, are operating while in bankruptcy, and have set a deadline for Monday to seek offers for Balmoral after rejecting a bid earlier this month by local businessman and horseman John Barnard. No harness racing dates for 2016 at Balmoral were issued by the Illinois Racing Board, and the Johnston family, which owns the park, are expected to file a proposal for exiting Chapter 11 by the end of this week.

Barnard has 30 horses at Balmoral that he'll relocate next month, and two of his horses — Macho Burbon and Hudson Jesse — were winners there on Saturday.

A larger-than-usual crowd attended Saturday's races, but Barnard said that "most people thought we were at a wake or a funeral," describing the overall mood.

"There's so much history," he said of the park, which opened in 1926 as Lincoln Fields. "I'd hate to see the place torn down."

Gloria Buitron, who has bartended at the harness horse racing facility for nearly 40 years, held back tears Saturday thinking about all of the people who would lose their jobs and about the second family she was losing.

"This is my life," she said. "This is all I have."

Buitron said she plans to retire next year because she feels she's too old to seek another job.

Elizabeth Krawczykowski, who was working maintenance Saturday, also found it hard to contain her tears.

"I love working here," she said. "You just have to say goodbye to everybody."

The track owners filed for bankruptcy on Christmas Eve a year ago, shortly after a federal appeals court ordered them to pay nearly $79 million to casinos in Aurora, Elgin and Joliet. The filing was meant to stay that judgment and give the owners breathing room to reorganize.

The appeals court had overturned a lower court ruling in a lawsuit that alleged the owners, specifically John Johnston, Balmoral Park's president, agreed to make a $100,000 campaign contribution to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in return for Blagojevich signing legislation extending an agreement to share casino gambling revenue with horse racing tracks. The contribution was never made, however.

The track owners are contesting that appeals court ruling, and arguments in the appeal are expected to be heard Jan. 13, according to a court filing.

Ken Churilla, director of marketing for Balmoral, said that between 2,000 and 3,000 fans visit the park on a typical Saturday night, but this weekend's crowd far surpassed that number.

Cathy Tucker, of Crown Point, Ind., said she used to come to Balmoral several years ago but came Saturday because it was the final night.

"I think it's kind of sad," she said. "I regret not coming back more often because now it's closing."

David Gordon, of Joliet, said he's been going to Balmoral almost every weekend for the past 25 years.

"I think this is more exciting than playing slots or table games," he said.

Ken Wessler, of Grant Park, said he's enjoyed the camaraderie with race fans at the park. He said he's been going to Balmoral almost every Saturday since the early 1980s. Wessler owns a barbershop in Steger called Centre and has even created a horse racing theme inside his business.

He said he'll miss this pastime.

"I'll just have to do without," Wessler said.

Crete Mayor Mike Einhorn said he had been at the track for the races Dec. 19, and had planned to be there for the final night. He said he's concerned for all of the people who make a living from Balmoral, whether it's caring for the horses or serving food at concession stands.

"Just all of those people who keep it running," he said. "Will people move out of the area? Will they stay and try to find jobs (locally)?"

The mayor said "it's kind of hard to quantify" the economic impact of people who attend races and, either before or after, might patronize area businesses such as restaurants. But losing the track is "one more thing that puts us farther behind the 8-ball," Einhorn said.

When the tracks filed for bankruptcy, Balmoral directly employed 141 people, according to an initial court filing, but it noted the tracks "are the engine that drives thousands of additional jobs" tied to the racing.