Horses run in the third race of the day on April 6, 2024, at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney. 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.
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.“We remain fully committed to developing a new harness track to complement racing at Hawthorne, as was intended in the legislation.
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. 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.