Racing goes on at Hawthorne as sun sets on Arlington

HINSDALE IL-– Arlington Park will host its final Thoroughbred races this weekend but Chicago horse racing will carry on at Hawthorne Racecourse, and Illinois horsemen are optimistic that a second new racetrack will be built in the near southwest suburbs in the next few years.

“Illinois horse racing is poised to make a comeback,” said Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association President Marty Engel. “There is a lot of excitement in the industry, especially in harness racing. A new day is dawning.”

Illinois horsemen won approval for casino-style gaming at racetracks in 2019. That system of supplementing purses has been used by other horse racing states to revive the breeding industry.

Over the years, Illinois harness racing – once a premier harness destination in the United States – has been decimated by riverboats and land-based casinos. Horsemen here moved their farms and employees to other states that offered more opportunity because of slot machines at racetracks.

At one time, horse racing and agribusinesses in Illinois employed 40,000 people including breeders, trainers, grooms, veterinarians, blacksmiths, and farmers.

Another achievement of the 2019 legislation is language that will allow for a new Standardbred only racino to be opened in Chicago’s southwest suburbs. Currently, Standardbred racing only happens at Hawthorne Racetrack which splits it’s time between Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing.

The number of foals born in 2020 was 354, up from 144 born in 2018. And while that is a far cry from the peak of 2,535 horses born in 1984, it is solid growth that can be built upon.

Because of the recently passed “racino” bill, Illinois-bred horses will be racing for larger purses and better racing opportunities in the years to come and that has driven interest in owning Illinois Standarbred racehorses.

From the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association