Hawthorne Race Course and related companies have filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in federal bankruptcy court in Chicago, pushing Illinois racing’s long-running Hawthorne crisis into a new phase. The filing is designed to keep the business operating while it tries to restructure debt, secure new financing, and find a buyer or recapitalization partner.
The filing matters well beyond one racetrack. Hawthorne sits at the center of Illinois horse racing and off-track wagering, and its financial problems have already spilled into unpaid purses, bounced checks, suspended signals, and licensing strain. Now those problems are sitting inside a court-supervised reorganization, with the company trying to buy time to keep racing and wagering operations alive.
Bankruptcy filing puts numbers on the debt stack
Court filings place Hawthorne’s estimated assets between $50 million and $100 million and its liabilities between $100 million and $500 million. Among the 20 largest unsecured claims, Fanatics LLC is listed first at $8.75 million, followed by Monarch Content Management at $7.13 million.
Hawthorne had already been dealing with unpaid bills across the racing ecosystem, and the filing shows the pressure extends into sports wagering as well.
Debtor-in-possession financing is central to the plan
Hawthorne is seeking Debtor-in-Possession financing as part of the restructuring, with court papers and related company statements describing that funding as the immediate bridge needed to pay employees, address accrued purses, and reactivate simulcast signals for off-track betting and online wagering. One court filing also says the debtors have negotiated $16 million in Debtor-in-Possession financing with Chicago-based JDI Loans.
The company is also still trying to preserve a path toward a “Racino,” which has been the central long-term value story around Hawthorne since Illinois approved racetrack casinos. That part of the plan has dragged on for years, but management is still presenting it as the asset that could make Hawthorne more attractive to fresh capital.
Illinois racing now depends on whether Hawthorne can stabilize fast
Hawthorne’s reorganization plan says it will prioritize paying off debt from accrued purses and payroll, and horsemen’s groups have said a thoroughbred meet could still go ahead if the court approves financing and the track can keep operating. But the immediate picture is still unclear shipping decisions are being delayed, simulcast revenue needs to be restored, and the business is still looking for a partner willing to finance a future that has been talked about for years without being built.
