Hawthorne Racecourse in Stickney, Ill., and Churchill Downs Inc. have reached an agreement to restore CDI’s signals to Hawthorne and its Chicago-area off-track betting parlors, according to officials for both tracks. The agreement, which had been scuttled last year after Hawthorne began running debts to simulcast companies due to financial difficulties, was approved on Thursday by a bankruptcy judge handling Hawthorne’s Chapter 11 filing, according to David McCaffrey, the executive director of the Illinois Horsemen’s Thoroughbred Association. A Churchill spokesperson confirmed on Friday morning that the agreement is in place. The restoration of the agreement means bettors at Hawthorne or one of the 11 OTBs that Hawthorne operates throughout the metro Chicago area will be able to wager on the Kentucky Oaks card on Friday and the Kentucky Derby card on Saturday.  :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Hawthorne had previously reached agreements to restore the simulcast signals from a number of other racing companies a month ago. But the Churchill agreement ran into several “hiccups” at bankruptcy hearings earlier this week before finally being approved by the judge on Thursday, according to McCaffrey. Hawthorne filed for bankruptcy in February after losing its harness-racing license due to unpaid bills. The judge has approved up to $20 million in debtor-in-possession financing so that Hawthorne could launch a Thoroughbred meet in April and begin accruing revenues from the importation of full-card simulcasts. The judge has set a deadline for mid-July for Hawthorne to reach a deal to sell the track or partner with a casino company. If that does not happen, liquidation proceedings are expected to begin. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.