Illinois Regulators Halt Hawthorne Racing After Purse Checks Bounce

• Illinois Racing Board orders Hawthorne to stop live racing and OTB
• Horsemen say purse checks bounced twice within weeks
• Shutdown leaves Illinois without live parimutuel racing, for now

Illinois’ embattled Hawthorne Race Course was ordered to cease live racing and suspend its off-track betting (OTB) operations after horsemen at the ongoing harness meet said they were issued checks for race purses that bounced. Sports betting operations weren’t affected.

The Illinois Racing Board’s (IRB) order on Friday leaves the state without live horse racing until Hawthorne’s operations resume.

While the shutdown has been described as “temporary,” there is no firm timeline for reopening, and regulators may require financial assurances before racing is allowed to restart. Illinois racing regulations require tracks to maintain sufficient funds to guarantee purse payments to horsemen.

‘Embarrassing Failure’

Jeff Davis, president of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association, wrote in a message to the organization’s membership that the checks were returned unpaid by banks for “the second time in a matter of weeks.” He described the situation as “another embarrassing failure for Hawthorne Race Course.”

“To that end, we are publicly calling on Hawthorne to provide a letter from their bank today stating that these returned payments are indeed a glitch in their system and not a lack of available funds in their account,” Davis added.

We cannot take Hawthorne’s word that this second round of bounced checks is an anomaly. Horsemen’s livelihoods depend on this money, and we are well beyond the point where we can trust what Hawthorne tells us,” he said.

Illinois passed legislation in 2019 that gave racetracks the right to apply for casino licenses. Later that year, the state granted Hawthorne preliminary approval to move forward, and it began demolition work on its grandstand. However, the project is currently stalled.

The Chicago Tribune has reported that the track’s owners have been unable to get loans to build the racino and owe large debts to contractors.

Meanwhile, Hawthorne’s inaction has prevented other projects from getting off the ground because regulators have been reluctant to approve competing racetracks or casinos in the same radius until Hawthorne’s situation is resolved.

Simulcasts Cut

In 2024 and 2025, simulcast providers like Churchill Downs Inc. cut off Hawthorne’s access to race signals because settlement fees weren’t paid. That meant bettors couldn’t wager on races from some major tracks via Hawthorne’s machines.

No other track in Illinois is currently hosting live parimutuel horse racing, although Fairmount Park and Suburban Downs have been approved to race later in the year.