Hawthorne Race Course has a July 10 bid deadline and a court-approved July 13 auction date as the future of Chicago thoroughbred racing hangs on the track’s bankruptcy sale.
The 135-year-old Cicero venue is up for sale with a $90million stalking-horse bid setting the current floor, but the central issue is whether the winning bidder will keep racing alive or treat the site as a development play near Chicago Midway International Airport.
Thoroughbred Daily News reported that the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case said last week he would prefer a going-concern transaction that preserves racing at Hawthorne, while also describing the initial $90million marker as surprisingly low.
Why Hawthorne Sale Matters
The auction lands at a fragile point for Illinois racing. Arlington International Racecourse, once the state’s flagship thoroughbred venue, staged its final meeting in 2021 and has since been razed after its sale to the Chicago Bears.
That left Hawthorne carrying the burden of the Chicago circuit while its long-planned racino project remained unrealised. A buyer focused on racing and gaming could offer the sport a route back to stability; a real-estate-led outcome would deepen the contraction of a once major American racing market.
The next key checkpoint is Friday’s bid deadline. If competing offers emerge before the Monday auction, the final price and the buyer’s intentions will determine whether Hawthorne remains a racing asset or becomes the latest historic track to leave the thoroughbred map.
