There is just one track still open in Illinois.
The Chicago metropolitan area no longer has any horse racing tracks. The Hawthorne Race Track in Stickney, Illinois ran its last race on July 19th. A bankruptcy judge greenlighted a deal to a real estate company that plans to raze the track and develop the 109-acre property. The track opened on June 28th, 1884. It appeared that the track would have a new life as on June 28th, 2019, a sports betting and expanded gaming bill was signed by Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker. The bill allowed tracks to open casinos so that the tracks could get more money from gamblers. On July 29th, 2020, the Illinois Gaming Board unanimously approved Hawthorne’s application to build a $400 million casino for slot machines, table games and sports betting. The casino never was built.
On February 27th, 2026, the Hawthorne Race Track ownership filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection hoping to sell its assets to a buyer who would provide money to continue racing. Court papers said the track owed $100 million to $500 million to perhaps 6,000 creditors, some of whom had claims going back more than 20 years. On June 29th, 2026, the track owners were unable to fill its race card, Hawthorne canceled its Thursday dates racing only on Sunday. The owners threw in the towel and the last race was on July 19th. The bankruptcy judge ended the racing schedule and that was it. Horse Racing’s huge following faded after the 1950s as states began lotteries and betting was made easy. There was a limited but growing form of legalized betting around, with state lotteries, off track betting and the availability of all forms of gambling in stores along with casinos sprouting up around the country. Gamblers’ had choices. Illinois has one racetrack left. Hawthrone is just the latest to close.
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