Cicero, IL — Suburban Downs at Hawthorne Race Course has requested approval to vacate live racing scheduled for Jan. 24-25, the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association announced Thursday (Jan. 22). The IHHA said the racetrack’s “banking issues” have not been resolved.
Hawthorne was awarded only 34 harness racing dates for this year, in the winter and fall of 2026. As of now, the first eight programs have been lost, though the IHHA reported last week that Hawthorne committed to distributing the purse money equally among all horses entered in each race that was scheduled for last weekend, when two cards were not raced.
Entries were not drawn for the Jan. 24 and 25 programs. The meet is scheduled to end Feb. 15.
“This marks yet another weekend where racing cannot proceed because horsemen cannot be paid,” IHHA president Jeff Davis said in a memo to membership. “We have formally asked the Illinois Racing Board to begin discussing alternative options, as repeating this same outcome week after week is not workable for horsemen or the industry.
“Our position remains unchanged: Racing should not resume until horsemen have reliable access to their earned funds. We will provide further updates as soon as they are available.
The next IRB meeting is scheduled for Jan. 28 at 1 p.m. (CST).