Hawthorne asks judge for sale extension
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Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Ill., has asked a bankruptcy judge to extend the deadlines it was asked to meet as part of a court-ordered sale process, according to documents filed by the track.
The track, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late February, requested that the judge hearing the case approve a plan that would allow it to accept bids on its property through July 29, five weeks later than the existing deadline of June 26. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday to consider the motion.
In the filing, Hawthorne said that “over 50 persons/entities” have signed non-disclosure agreements to conduct due diligence on a potential purchase or partnership with the existing owners of the track to develop a casino on the site, which sits on approximately 100 acres in the south Chicago metro area.
“There has been substantial interest of many prospective purchasers,” the filing said.
Hawthorne is currently operating under debtor-in-possession financing and is conducting a live Thoroughbred racing meet supported by revenues from off-track betting parlors around the Chicago area.
The Illinois Legislature in 2019 passed a bill that allowed Hawthorne to build a casino at its property, but efforts to build and open it have been stymied by the track’s financial woes and disagreements among its owners about how to proceed. Hawthorne is owned by dozens of descendants of Thomas Carey, the founder of the track.
Hawthorne officials have said that they are pursuing deals that would allow the track to stay open under the solid financial footing of a partnership with a company that could finance the casino.
The filing says that the company would schedule an auction as early as Aug. 4 to determine a winning bidder, but details of the auction were not disclosed.
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