(The Center Square) – The Illinois Racing Board denied a request from Hawthorne Race Course to conduct horse races next year during its monthly meeting.
It was not clear how or where the applicants would conduct races, as the Stickney course was sold earlier this year.
Illinois Racing Board Executive Director Domenic DiCera said that of the three applicants to request to operate horse races in Illinois in 2027, two applications filed by Hawthorne and Suburban Downs, which are separate entities with the same ownership, were deficient and the filers were given the opportunity to correct and refile with the board.
“The Illinois Racing Board determined the applications submitted by Hawthorne Race Sports Inc. and Suburban Downs Inc. remained deficient and did not comply with the act or the rules and regulations prescribed by the Board. As such, the applications were rejected,” DiCera said.
Hawthorne Race Course went bankrupt in February, and the site was vacated at the end of August.
The course was sold to data center developer Digital Realty for $90 million through an approval by a bankruptcy court judge, though the future of the property was again brought into question after Stickney village officials passed a six-month moratorium on data centers.
Stickney Mayor Mitch Milenkovic also voiced his opposition to a data center at the site in late August.
The town of Cicero passed a resolution also in opposition to a data center being built at the former race track on July 28.
Cicero Town Collector Frances Reitz spoke to why the board generally opposed a center at the location.
“Our residents if something like this gets built right across the street from all of our residents that live along 35th Street. The kids that go to the park, the splash park, our seniors at Drexel Horizons,” Reitz said. “The implications of a data center and all the electricity and the noise and humming and the lights and everything you take it out of the water usage would have such an impact on Cicero.”
During the 2025 fiscal year, Hawthorne and Suburban Downs were approved for and held 63 and 34 days of horse racing, respectively, at the course, representing a combined total of about 61% of all racing days that year.
The racing board brought in roughly $10.16 million through a variety of different taxes and fees on horse racing around the state, which otherwise is made up by Fairmount Park in Collinsville and eight days of racing at both state fairs.
During the meeting, the board approved an expanded race schedule at Fairmount Park in Collinsville, Illinois’ last remaining Thoroughbred racetrack. The location will host 73 race days in 2027, compared to 57 days this year.
