Columbus, OH – On Monday (June 29), a bankruptcy court judge in Illinois extended the deadline for Hawthorne Race Course to accept bids to purchase the racetrack according to a story in BloodHorse.
“Bankruptcy Judge Timothy Barnes has agreed to extend the deadline for bids to buy Hawthorne Race Course out of bankruptcy, hoping to increase an initial $90 million offer and to encourage bidders who would continue racing at the suburban Chicago track,” wrote Bob Kieckhefer in the story.
“The bid deadline had been set for June 30. Barnes agreed at a June 29 hearing to push that to July 10. He also delayed a sale hearing from July 13 to July 20.
“The extension was coupled with approval of the $90 million ‘stalking horse’ bid by a Delaware-registered limited liability corporation. The bidder, whose identity is shielded by Delaware laws, would seek to redevelop the property for other uses, Hawthorne and a creditors’ committee have revealed.
“Approval of the stalking horse bid sets a minimum for any other bids and also unlocks an additional $1.9 million in bankruptcy funding that Hawthorne attorney Barry Chatz said is needed to continue racing through July.”
Hawthorne is currently conducting a Thoroughbred meet. After being forced to cancel the harness racing dates scheduled for January and February due to the bankruptcy, the current Thoroughbred meet also had to be delayed until bankruptcy funding was provided by the court. Hawthorne is scheduled to conduct harness racing in November and December.
To read the complete story in BloodHorse, click here.