While Chicago Bears evaluate Arlington Park, Hawthorne readies for casino construction

While Chicago Bears evaluate Arlington Park, Hawthorne readies for casino construction

Article brief provided by Daily Herald
  • Christopher Placek, Daily Herald
September 24, 2022 6:40 PM
  • Christopher Placek, Daily Herald

Sunday marks the anniversary of the final day of horse racing at Arlington Park, which is now being liquidated as the Chicago Bears continue their due diligence on a pending $197.2 million purchase.

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The Arlington Heights oval is expected to remain dormant next year, too, after the Illinois Racing Board’s formal award this week of 2023 race dates to Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero — the lone remaining Chicago-area racetrack.

Thoroughbreds entered the starting gate for their 2022 fall meet at Hawthorne on Friday afternoon.

It’s a study in contrasts between the racetracks in the Northwest and Southwest suburbs: Churchill Downs Inc., the Louisville, Kentucky-based owner of the former track, finding its prime real estate too valuable and the 2019 state gambling expansion law too taxing, while the fourth-generation family owners of the latter tout grand plans to start building a casino enabled by the legislation.