Pari-mutuel harness racing will make a brief comeback in Illinois this month as the annual state fair meetings take place in Springfield Thursday through August 15 and DuQuoin August 26 to 28.
In Springfield, programs will run at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Thursday and at 11 a.m. on August 9, 10, 14 and 15. The DuQuoin races will begin at 4 p.m. on each of the three days. Pari-mutuel betting on these races also will be available via simulcast at Hawthorne Race Course, Illinois off-track betting sites, out-of-state network locations and phone and Internet betting outlets.
Pari-mutuel betting won’t be available again in Illinois until October, when Hawthorne begins its October-December meeting.
In the meantime, the non-betting races that were held in June and July in Springfield and DuQuoin will resume again in September and continue into October. While the August state fair races are funded by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the September and October races will be financed by Hawthorne’s purse account.
“It’s much more exciting,” Tony Somone, the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association’s Executive Director, told the HRU Harness Racing Update, about the difference between the State Fairgrounds’ pari-mutuel races and non-betting programs. “The races are a draw for the state fairs; we still get good crowds.”
This year, the association called for the state to reconsider Hawthorne Race Course’s veto power over new racetrack and casino proposals.
