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Illinois Racing Board Executive Director Domenic DiCera said
that of the three applicants to request to operate horse races
in Illinois in 2027, two applications filed by Hawthorne and
Suburban Downs, which are separate entities with the same
ownership, were deficient and the filers were given the
opportunity to correct and refile with the board.
“The Illinois Racing Board determined the applications submitted
by Hawthorne Race Sports Inc. and Suburban Downs Inc. remained
deficient and did not comply with the act or the rules and
regulations prescribed by the Board. As such, the applications
were rejected,” DiCera said.
Hawthorne Race Course went bankrupt in February, and the site
was vacated at the end of August.
The course was sold to data center developer Digital Realty for
$90 million through an approval by a bankruptcy court judge,
though the future of the property was again brought into
question after Stickney village officials passed a six-month
moratorium on data centers.
Stickney Mayor Mitch Milenkovic also voiced his opposition to a
data center at the site in late August.
The town of Cicero passed a resolution also in opposition to a
data center being built at the former race track on July 28.
Cicero Town Collector Frances Reitz spoke to why the board
generally opposed a center at the location.
“Our residents if something like this gets built right across
the street from all of our residents that live along 35th
Street. The kids that go to the park, the splash park, our
seniors at Drexel Horizons,” Reitz said. “The implications of a
data center and all the electricity and the noise and humming
and the lights and everything you take it out of the water usage
would have such an impact on Cicero.”
During the 2025 fiscal year, Hawthorne and Suburban Downs were
approved for and held 63 and 34 days of horse racing,
respectively, at the course, representing a combined total of
about 61% of all racing days that year.
The racing board brought in roughly $10.16 million through a
variety of different taxes and fees on horse racing around the
state, which otherwise is made up by Fairmount Park in
Collinsville and eight days of racing at both state fairs.
During the meeting, the board approved an expanded race schedule
at Fairmount Park in Collinsville, Illinois' last remaining
Thoroughbred racetrack. The location will host 73 race days in
2027, compared to 57 days this year.
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