A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the $90 million sale of the real estate beneath Hawthorne Race Course, clearing the way for the closure of the Chicago area’s last active horse track and all but ending the long-delayed plan to build a casino on the property, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.
Judge Timothy Barnes signed off on the sale of the 135-year-old track’s land in Stickney, just outside Chicago’s western border, to Allimac 2023 LLC, a Delaware-registered entity buying the property for redevelopment rather than racing. Hawthorne’s owners had sought court approval after a bankruptcy auction produced only one qualified bid — despite roughly 70 parties expressing interest, according to the Daily Herald. An attorney for Hawthorne told the court the company had tried to find a buyer willing to keep the racetrack operating.
How the last track fell
Hawthorne, which opened in 1891, filed for Chapter 11 protection in late February, listing estimated assets of $50 million to $100 million against liabilities of $100 million to $500 million, NBC Chicago reported. The filing capped years of financial strain during which the track’s survival strategy hinged on a single project: a casino.
Illinois’ 2019 gambling expansion authorized racetracks to add casino gaming, and Hawthorne spent years pursuing a “racino” that was widely viewed as essential to the future of Illinois thoroughbred racing — a way to subsidize purses and keep the state’s breeding and racing industry competitive with neighboring states. The project was repeatedly delayed, and with the property now sold to a buyer with redevelopment plans, the casino concept appears dead.
The end of Chicago racing — and a major infill site
Hawthorne’s closure would leave the Chicago area without an active horse track for the first time in more than a century. Arlington International Racecourse ran its final races in 2021 before its 326-acre site was sold to the Chicago Bears, and smaller venues had already fallen away — leaving Hawthorne as the last track standing until now.
For the real estate market, the sale converts a large, well-located parcel along Chicago’s western industrial corridor into one of the region’s more significant redevelopment sites. Crain’s reported the buyer is lining up a sprawling new development for the property. The area’s logistics market gives the site obvious potential: even as Chicago industrial vacancy has ticked up, large contiguous infill parcels near the city remain scarce and sought-after.
What it means
The verified facts: the court approved a $90 million real-estate sale to Allimac 2023 LLC; the buyer is not acquiring the racing operation; Hawthorne filed Chapter 11 in February with liabilities far exceeding assets; and only one qualified bid emerged from the auction.
The analysis: this is a case study in single-asset distress meeting land value — the dirt was worth more than the business, a dynamic playing out across distressed properties nationally. What to watch next: the closing timeline, Allimac’s redevelopment proposal and the zoning process in Stickney, and what becomes of Illinois’ racing dates and breeding programs now that the industry’s anchor venue is gone.
