Illinois Racing Board Decisions Critical To Our Future.
Hawthorne is set to be sold to Allimac, a company with no interest in horseracing, on September 1st. The impact of those decisions are critical to our future. Neil Milbert wrote an article about it in a recent edition of "Harness Racing Update." Click here to read it in its entirety. Harness Racing Update
Hawthorne Bankruptcy Update
Hawthorne's bankruptcy case continues along with the September 1st sales date approaching quickly. The thoroughbred horsemen have gotten their purse money for three days of racing in July. So now the only questions remaining are shipping out the horses stabled there and finding new housing for the 500 plus displaced backstretch workers. We learned when everyone else learned that Hawthorne had submitted for racing dates in 2027. With no racetrack on September 1st, no income, and so many financial issues and no communication by them to us or the thoroughbred group, we were as surprised as anyone. The most pertinent decisions regarding our future will ultimately be made by the Illinois Racing Board. We have been in regular contact with them. Will Hawthorne keep their license? If so, for how long? Will the OTB's remain open? If so, how will the profits be distributed? How soon before someone new is allowed to apply for a racing license with the understanding that the 35-mile rule no longer exists? These are just a few questions waiting on answers.
Sales date, backstretch closing date affirmed by the bankruptcy court.
The backstretch at Hawthorne will officially close on Aug.31. The sales date will either be Sept. 1 or 2. Racing is officially over. Hawthorne has requested another $900,000 loan to get them through the next 5-6 weeks. It was granted but with strict concerns. They will have weekly status hearings to make sure they are spending their remaining dollars according to the plan. The U.S trustee said he was very frustrated by the actions of Hawthorne. Information wasn't coming to him as quickly or efficiently as he expected. He warned that if he was not satisfied with the weekly status updates regarding how the money is spent he could file a motion to convert this case immediately into a Chapter 7. The Illinois Racing Board is now faced with making unprecedented decisions. Determining when exactly Hawthorne will lose their license and what specifically it will mean to the Hawthorne's OTB's are just a few of the pending questions.
Court Finalizes Sale of Hawthorne to Allimac 2023
On Monday, July 20, the Hawthorne bankruptcy sales hearing took place. It was finalized and agreed to that Allimac 2023 was the lone bidder and they would acquire Hawthorne racetrack for $90 million. There were no objections to that. The disagreements on the specifics of the deal were in regards to the unpaid purses for thoroughbred horsemen from three race dates in July and how to facilitate the move of the backstretch community. The ITHA represented that approximately 500 people were living on the backstretch, including 150 children and 450 horses. As it stands now, the backstretch will remain open until at least August 31. Whether Hawthorne will pay purses still owed from three days of racing in July remains to be seen. Whether there will be any more live racing this year remains to be seen. Right now there doesn’t appear to be adequate funding for this. We will learn more at the next scheduled hearing, which is set for Wednesday, July 22 at 1pm.