The Illinois Racing Board recently issued a report indicating in 2016 the total amount wagered on horseracing was $571 million—down from $1.2 billion in 1980. Arlington, Fairmount Park and Hawthorne racetracks still are in operation; Maywood Park closed in 2015 and Balmoral Park closed its racetrack and now operates as a show jumping venue.
The problem, according to industry officials and observers, is that racinos are allowed in more than 10 other states, including Indiana and Kentucky. Racino owners use gaming revenue to increase horseracing purses, which attract better horses and larger crowds.
Racinos are banned under Illinois law. However, in May a bill allowing electronic gaming at racetracks narrowly passed the state Senate. The bill, SB7, awaits a vote in the House. State Senator Terry Link has introduced a similar bill every year for 15 years. The bill was vetoed by then-Governor Pat Quinn two times. Link said he believes allowing racinos would give the industry a needed boost. “Right now I feel it’s on life support. It’s crucial that we do something to help it,” he said.
Governor Bruce Rauner stated the horseracing industry is an important part of the state’s economy. “We need to keep an open mind about all available options to bolster the industry so that we’re not losing it, and the jobs it provides, to neighboring states,” he said.
In October, the racing board redistributed $500,000 in excess funds to the three existing racetracks to help them increase purses. The board also renewed licenses for Hawthorne, Fairmont and Arlington and approved their proposed 2018 racing schedules. But the future is uncertain beyond that.
Illinois Racing Board Executive Director Domenic DiCera said with low purses, horse owners have little incentive to stay in Illinois. He said top-level trainers and jockeys bring their horses to race in Indiana. Racing board Chairman Jeffrey Brincat added tracks with more champion horses draw more bettors, allowing those tracks raise their purses even more. As a result, Illinois loses bettors to Indiana or other states, racetracks make less money and their purses drop even lower. “It’s really a question not of ‘if’ the horseracing industry will fail, but of how much pain these horse owners and track owners can tolerate,” Brincat said.
Hawthorne President Tim Carey, whose family has owned and operated the track since 1909, said purses there have dropped dramatically: last year’s live thoroughbred races averaged a daily purse of about $110,000, about half the amount a decade earlier. “We are an industry that could be thriving if the legislature would move,” he said.
