A development group is interested in building a $180 million racino featuring thoroughbred racing at Richton Park, about 35 miles south of Chicago.
Lincoln Land Downs (LLD) hopes to file an application with the Illinois Racing Board (IRB) this year for a horse racing license and 2025 race dates, requirements for being eligible to apply for a casino license.
According to a post on the Richton Park website, Project Manager Ron Awsumb said, “It’s been my motivation because I love horse racing and there’s no reason you can’t thrive in Chicago. 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.”
Originally, LLD planned to offer harness racing, currently featured at Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero, which also offers thoroughbred racing. However, it would have needed the consent of Hawthorne, which declined.
In a statement to US Bets, Hawthorne officials said, “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 said LLD can proceed with plans to offer thoroughbred racing, even though it’s located within the 35-mile radius of Hawthorne. He noted the racing board has been “very supportive” of his group’s plans. In a statement to US Bets, IRB 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.”
Awsumb acknowledged thoroughbred racing incurs higher costs. But, he said, “Thoroughbred racing is just a better product. You can draw a lot more people. 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. And we think that since Arlington closed, there’s a big void in the Chicago area for a suburb to offer racing.”
Only two thoroughbred racing venues have operated in Illinois since Arlington International closed in 2021 after Churchill Downs surprisingly decided to not seek a racino license shortly after the gaming bill was passed.
Churchill sold the Arlington property for $197.3 million to the Chicago Bears, which used the land as a bargaining chip in discussions with the city of Chicago for a new stadium and ultimately razed the historic grandstand. However, earlier this month the team committed $2 billion toward a new stadium located in the parking lot next to its current home at Soldier Field. The Bears still own the Arlington land but observers said it’s likely to be sold due to the $15 million annual tax bill.
Unlike the plans of Hawthorne and Fairmount Park in Cahokia, LLD would develop a temporary casino, which, under law, could operate for two years before a permanent casino opens. Racinos are allowed to offer up to 1,200 gaming positions but, Awsumb noted, a temporary casino with as few as 500 positions would create early returns for investors.
“That is a real selling point to putting a project together. 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,” he said on the city’s website.
According to Awsumb, the 140-acre site would include a backstitch with state-of-the-art barns, training facilities and an equine aquatic center, a 20,000-square-foot grandstand accommodating 2,000 people and a permanent 60,000-square-foot casino.
Awsumb said the casino could open in 2028 or 2029 and generate $100 million in annual adjusted gross revenue.
“I see it as a huge opportunity. There’s a lot of negativity towards horseracing 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,” Awsumb said.
