{"id":401,"date":"2026-03-02T17:45:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/?p=401"},"modified":"2026-03-25T13:23:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:23:46","slug":"chicago-area-racetrack-hawthorne-files-for-bankruptcy-lists-up-to-500m-in-liabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/chicago-area-racetrack-hawthorne-files-for-bankruptcy-lists-up-to-500m-in-liabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago-Area Racetrack Hawthorne Files For Bankruptcy, Lists Up to $500M in Liabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Hawthorne files Chapter 11 with liabilities up to $500M<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Illinois Racing Board halts racing after bounced purse checks<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Fanatics owed $8.75M as racino project remains stalled<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The stricken Hawthorne Race Course near Chicago filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday, listing estimated assets of between $50 million and $100 million and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_372305\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-372305\" data-style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO wp-image-372305 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Hawthorne Race Course, Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Illinois Racing Board, Fanatics sportsbook, Illinois racino\" width=\"858\" height=\"527\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Hawthorne-858x527-1.jpg\"><figcaption>The Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero, Illinois, above, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid mounting debts and stalled racino plans. (Image: Hawthorne Race Course)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hawthorne said in a press release that it is seeking a reorganization plan that will \u201cprioritize paying accrued purses to the Illinois Horsemen as well as payroll for the track employees while restructuring the company&#8217;s debt.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Racing Halted<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The news comes just weeks after the Illinois Racing Board <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-regulators-halt-hawthorne-racing-after-purse-checks-bounce\/\">ordered the track<\/a> to cease live racing and suspend its off-track betting (OTB) operations because horsemen were issued purse checks that bounced for the second time in a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe goal of the reorganization is to attract a buyer or investor willing to recapitalize Hawthorne and restart operations of the racecourse while maximizing recovery to the company&#8217;s creditors,\u201d the track said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>In 2019, Illinois lawmakers approved legislation allowing racetracks to apply for casino licenses. Later that year, the state granted Hawthorne preliminary approval to proceed, and the track began demolishing part of its grandstand in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hawthorne-moves-ahead-on-casino-hires-industry-exec-with-chicago-ties\/\">preparation for redevelopment<\/a>. The project has since stalled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>According to reporting by <em>the Chicago Tribune,<\/em> Hawthorne\u2019s owners struggled to secure financing for the planned racino and owe substantial sums to contractors. Regulators have also been reluctant to advance competing racetrack or casino proposals within the same area while Hawthorne\u2019s status remains unresolved.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024 and 2025, simulcast providers, including Churchill Downs Inc., suspended Hawthorne\u2019s access to certain race signals over unpaid settlement fees, preventing bettors from wagering on races from several major tracks through Hawthorne\u2019s betting terminals.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Still Hope for Racino<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Despite the financial turmoil, the racino project may still be revived if a backer can be found. Hawthorne President and CEO Tim Caey said there was \u201csubstantial interest from potential buyers and recapitalization partners\u201d due to the potential transformative value of completing the long-delayed development.<\/p>\n<p>He added that debtor-in-possession financing could help restore simulcasting operations, which he said would generate approximately $4 million in monthly revenue.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>Among the largest creditors is Hawthorne\u2019s sports betting partner, Fanatics, which is owed $8.75 million, according to the bankruptcy filing. The company has operated retail sportsbooks at the track and several affiliated OTB locations under Hawthorne\u2019s license and continues to do so.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>However, Fanatics\u2019 mobile sportsbook in Illinois now operates under a different partner, Argosy Casino Alton, rather than Hawthorne\u2019s license.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-area-racetrack-hawthorne-files-chapter-11-lists-up-to-500m-in-liabilities\/\">Chicago-Area Racetrack Hawthorne Files For Bankruptcy, Lists Up to $500M in Liabilities<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\">Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hawthorne files Chapter 11 with liabilities up to $500M Illinois Racing Board halts racing after bounced purse checks Fanatics owed $8.75M as racino project remains stalled The stricken Hawthorne Race Course near Chicago filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday, listing estimated assets of between $50 million and $100 million and liabilities of between $100 million&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":404,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions\/404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}