When Illinois Governor JB Pritzker legalized sports betting in June 2019 as part of a massive gaming expansion bill, one other component was giving the state’s horse racing tracks the option to expand into racinos that offer on-site casino gaming.
Nearly five years later, however, there are no racinos. The horse racing industry in Illinois continues to hold out hope that such venues will be the lifelines that start a renaissance for the “Sport of Kings.”
The state’s two existing racetracks, Hawthorne Race Course in the south Chicago suburbs of Stickney and FanDuel Horse Racing and Sportsbook — still more known as Fairmount Park — on the other side of the state in Collinsville near the Missouri border, are in various stages of constructing racinos, but there are no definitive timetables for either venue.
Enter Lincoln Land Downs, which is in the preliminary stages of putting together a plan for a $180 million racino that would feature thoroughbred racing at Richton Park in the south suburbs of Cook County approximately 35 miles south of Chicago off Interstate 57.
There’s still plenty of stuff left to iron out, but the group is gaining momentum towards its goal for applying for a horse racing license and 2025 race dates with the Illinois Racing Board this year — the first steps towards eligibility to apply for an organizational casino license.
“It’s been my motivation because I love horse racing and there’s no reason you can’t thrive in Chicago,” said Ron Awsumb, the project manager for Lincoln Land Downs. “Chicago has a great history of horse racing. It’s the third-largest media market in the country. When you include Indiana, there’s 13 million people living in a 100-mile radius, so there’s no reason that you won’t get people out there [to the track].”
Lay of the Land for Industry and Location
Originally, Lincoln Land Downs was going to offer harness racing, which currently takes place at Hawthorne Race Course as part of its year-long offering of both harness and thoroughbred racing. In order to offer such races, Lincoln Land Downs required written consent from Hawthorne, since its proposed location is within a 35-mile radius of Stickney.
Awsumb said Hawthorne Race Course declined to give consent. When asked to confirm if it indeed declined the request, Hawthorne Race Course provided a statement via e-mail to US Bets reading:
“Hawthorne has never been approached about any legitimate, fully funded project. We are an Illinois racing company and the only business with the proven experience, integrity and wherewithal to develop a new harness racetrack and casino and we remain fully committed to doing so as part of our broader effort to rebuild Illinois racing.
Our $400 million redevelopment of Hawthorne into a “best in class” integrated racing and casino gaming destination is the most essential effort to the future of Illinois racing and the tens of thousands of jobs that depend on it.”
Awsumb pointed out his group has received legal assurances to legally go forward with plans for thoroughbred racing while being within the 35-mile radius of Hawthorne. He added the IRB has been “very supportive” of Lincoln Land Downs’ pursuit of its plans.
In a statement emailed to US Bets, Illinois Racing Board Executive Director Domenic DiCera said, “The State of Illinois would welcome anyone seeking to grow live racing and restore Illinois’ presence as a top-notch racing jurisdiction.”
Awsub acknowledged the higher costs that come with operating thoroughbred racing, but that could prove more beneficial in the long run since the more casual bettor gravitates to thoroughbred instead of harness racing. Illinois has only two thoroughbred racing sites since Arlington International closed in 2021 following Churchill Downs’ surprising decision not to pursue a racino license shortly after the gaming bill was passed.
“Thoroughbred [racing] is just a better product. You can draw a lot more people,” Awsumb explained. “There are more expenses involved, though, because we have to have a much more extensive backstretch, and maintaining the track, we have to hire more people for that kind of thing.”
“The biggest part about it: It’s just a better product. And we think that since Arlington closed, there’s a big void in the Chicago area for a suburb [to offer racing].”
There are undoubtedly still some raw feelings among industry stakeholders from Churchill Downs’ decision not to pursue a racino license, citing a higher “effective tax rate” since it would have been required to allocate casino revenue to thoroughbred purses.
The feelings of frustration and anger intensified and were amplified when Churchill Downs wound down horse racing at Arlington in meager fashion after the COVID-19 pandemic and sold the land to the Chicago Bears for $197.3 million as opposed to letting someone continue horse racing at the track with the world-famous cantilevered roof.
The storied NFL franchise held the land as a bargaining chip in talks with the City of Chicago for a new stadium and razed the grandstand in the process, but blinked earlier this month and committed $2 billion towards a new stadium whose center will be in the parking lot adjacent to its current home at Soldier Field. The team still holds the land but likely will sell it considering the estimated annual tax bill of $15 million based on the land valuation was far more than expected.
Can a Temporary Venue Work?
A key point of divergence for Lincoln Land Downs’ racino plans versus those of Hawthorne and Fairmount Park is the proposed new venue’s opting to have a temporary casino as part of its plans. Illinois state law allows for a temporary casino at racino venues, with the caveat being that the permanent venue must open within two years of the temporary one.
This also holds true for brick-and-mortar casino licensees. All licensees are able to request one 12-month extension from the Illinois Gaming Board provided they show “good cause” which is something Bally’s, Full House Resorts, and Hard Rock all have received after opening temporary casinos in downtown Chicago, Waukegan, and Rockford, respectively.
Awsumb noted that a temporary casino with even 400 to 500 gaming positions — racinos are allowed up to 1,200 — shows goodwill toward investors and local government.
“Investors like to see early returns, that is a real selling point to putting a project together,” he said. “So we are very much on that path that we would like to have a temporary [casino]. The nice thing about it is we would be able to take that facility and then turn that into a conference center, which is attractive to Richton Park.”
Both Awsumb and Richton Park Village Board President Rick Reinbold sounded optimistic about their talks to this point. They agree that the open land in the surrounding area is ideal for horse racing, given that the full plans for the 140-acre site include a backstretch with state-of-the-art barns and an equine aquatic center.
“We’re easily accessible to the Chicago market, but we’re also accessible for the racers or the horse people because to the south, there’s a lot of open space,” Reinbold said. “There’s the opportunity for stables and training facilities. We’re close to the city, but we’re close to the country in the middle. So I think it’s a very attractive site for this type of project.”
Awsumb projected the grandstand to be roughly 20,000 square feet in hopes of attracting up to 2,000 fans during the summer racing schedule. He said Lincoln Land Downs has been in talks with the Chicago Bears — who bought the parcel of land where Arlington International Racecourse was situated for $197.3 million in September 2021 — about transferring the turf from the track to see if it can take at Richton Park.
The permanent casino would be approximately 50,000 to 60,000 square feet. While a timeline with all the necessary approvals and licenses with a 12-month extension would put the doors on opening the permanent casino at some point in 2029, Awsumb believes there is a chance Lincoln Land Downs could open its complete venue in 2028.
A Chance to Reverse the Momentum
With Arlington’s demise and the choppy spurts of progress Hawthorne and the venue formerly known as Fairmount Park have made to this point, skepticism is understandable about making any racino in Illinois work. Still, Awsumb thinks Lincoln Land Downs has what it takes to pull it off with the multiple revenue sources a racino and its accoutrements can bring.
“I see it as a huge opportunity,” he said. “There’s a lot of negativity towards horse racing nationwide, saying, ‘Oh it’s a dying sport.’ And I disagree with that. In my way of thinking, the last 20 years, you’ve seen the largest expansion of gambling in human history in the United States. And horse racing, if you really sit down and look at it, has kind of held its own pretty good. The handle hasn’t decreased a whole lot. Sales are at record numbers, purses are at record numbers.”
“There’s a lot of gaming companies that are anxious to diversify into the Chicago market. And then the projections show that we should be able to do $100 million [annually] in adjusted gross revenue. So yeah, that’s attractive.”
