(CORRECTS KLINE’S NAME THROUGHOUT STARTING WITH SECOND REFERENCE)

Representatives from both Hawthorne Race Course and Fairmount Park presented in-progress reports to the Illinois Gaming Board on Thursday regarding plans to build casinos on both sides of the state, but the two horse racing tracks were still lacking clear-cut timelines to open their respective venues.

Hawthorne, located in the south Chicago suburb of Stickney, was declared “preliminary suitable” by the IGB for a racino in July 2020, while Fairmount Park — near St. Louis and the Missouri border — received that designation a few months later. Both tracks offer retail sports betting, with Hawthorne also operating sportsbooks at the maximum three off-track betting locations allowed by state law via PointsBet (soon to be Fanatics Sportsbook) and Fairmount Park rebranded to FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing when its sportsbook opened in March 2021.

But the two venues have run into various problems when it comes to building a racino, putting a pall over the horse racing industry in Illinois. Almost 11 months after both groups previously appeared before the IGB, Hawthorne CEO of Gaming Kevin Kline repeated some of the particulars of his group’s plan and noted the track is “engaged in an accelerated aspect of financing” for its $400 million project.

FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing President and General Manager Melissa Helton talked of floor plans and various details of the proposed layout of the casino. When pressed by IGB Administrator Marcus Fruchter about when the group, led by owner Bill Stiritz, would present a series of actionable items to the board for review and approval, she deferred to a letter she said Stiritz had provided the state agency in a confidential packet of information without offering a specific date.

“Our interest here of course is that the consumers get what they approved for through their representatives,” IGB Chairman Charles Schmadeke said, “but also the state of Illinois and the other taxing bodies benefit from this, so to sit this idle isn’t really … what we would like to see happen.”

Shovel-ready with a 14-month plan at Hawthorne

Kline, flanked by Hawthorne Race Course CEO Tim Carey at the podium during his presentation, could not offer many specifics about financing for the racino due to confidentiality rules. But he did remind the IGB that Hawthorne had committed from the start to bypass opening a temporary venue in favor of a permanent one on the 110-acre track grounds. Kline also said the 14-month plan to build out the racino remains shovel-ready and can begin following the completion of funding and after approvals are given.

When that construction resumes — Hawthorne underwent extensive demolition work in 2020 and 2021 — Kline said “all 110 acres will be under development while racing takes place.” Carey added Hawthorne is the only venue in the country flipping its track to accommodate both thoroughbred and harness racing, a notable commitment to keep horse racing relevant in the state.

“We take responsibility for the fact that Tim and I, sincerely, that the idea that the entire industry is dependent upon us getting this right is absolutely front and center,” Kline said. “Everything we’ve done from a diligence perspective, everything we’ve done to curate investors that are currently engaged with us through this execution phase that we’re in right now is first class.

“And we’re going to build a first-class, competitive facility. I think the economics will be far greater than what people initially thought that we would be able to yield with this.”

A 13-month plan to build at Fairmount Park

At the outset of her remarks, Helton noted it has been difficult to pull various pieces of Fairmount Park’s project together due to health issues within the ownership group. She mentioned one person passed away while a second who was on extended medical leave returned to full duties only last week.

While no work has been performed at the track, Helton said the local architect contracted for the project has clearly defined demolition zones as the 13-month project would be done in phases to minimize the impact on live racing. She added the preliminary layout of the casino floor for gaming positions has also been settled, though it is subject to change depending on expansion plans, and confirmed Stiritz would be completely financing the racino.

Fruchter recalled from the previous meeting that Regulatory and BSA/AML Compliance Officer Lynne Marburger had said the original goal was for Fairmount Park to submit financing and construction plans by last June, but neither were presented to the Board. Without holding Helton to that specific timeline, Fruchter asked when those “deliverables” could be presented, but she did not offer a potential timeline.

Handle numbers for 2023 down slightly

The total handle for horse racing in Illinois when including all the off-track betting sites was close to $191.7 million in 2023, down 5.6% from 2022. Hawthorne Race Course accounted for 86% of that amount, which includes 15 OTB locations compared to Fairmount Park’s three. The two race tracks accepted close to $44.7 million worth of wagers last year, a 1.3% increase from 2022.

Photo: Getty Images