Chicago Equestrian Board Races Ahead with Approval of 78 Programs for 2024 Season

Equestrian enthusiasts cannot control their excitement with the announcement of dates for Thoroughbred racing in Hawthorne. It seemed a difficult position for the races to be held in the Hawthorne racecourse after it was affected by the 2021 closure of the Arlington International racecourse. However, recently the Illinois Racing Board announced the approved 2024 race dates.

Hawthorne is given an ample number of programs and is also given an increment in its days of functioning. The optimism in the meeting gave a feeling to the enthusiasts that the upcoming races in the year 2024 will be a good one. Let’s have a panoramic view of the dates and the races to take place.

Announcement of Thoroughbred race programs at a prestigious equestrian event 

On the 21st of September 2023, the Illinois Racing Board announced 78 thoroughbred race programs at Hawthorne Racecourse in 2024. This racecourse is situated just outside Chicago. With the 78 programs, it has gotten an increment of 10 days over this year’s schedule. Here the races will be held two days in seven days, it will be arranged every Saturday and Sunday from the 23rd of March to the 1st of June 2024.

Following this, the races will be held for three days every seven days. Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays are the selected days from the 2nd of June to the 13th of October 2024. According to the Paulick Report, the post times will be initiated at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays and 2:50 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Not just this, the racecourse might also be available for thoroughbred training on the 17th of February 2024, on a Saturday. The president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Chris Block appreciated Tim Carey and the staff of Hawthorne’s as their efforts made Thoroughbred racing possible in Illinois.

Authorities express their emotions about racing in Illinois

Hawthorne Racecourse for years now has maintained a blue-collar reputation, but things have been different for the past two years after the Arlington fiasco. However, the president of Hawthorne, Tim Carey has painted quite a future for the racecourse his family has owned since 1909. He is planning to bring in a racino by the year 2025 and is quite confident about the plan. He expressed, “This racino will transform Illinois into one of the most exciting and prosperous markets for horse racing in North America.”

Chris Block has complete confidence in all the plans arranged by Carey. “We’re going to need to run on Saturday and Sunday, and Thursday evening. So the horsemen are ready for that and we look forward to that. We’re working together, we’re going in the same direction with something that is an absolute necessity in this day and age in the Illinois horse racing industry.”

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Chris Block is looking forward to the year 2025, he considers that the opening of the racino will be a rebirth for Illinois horse racing. And this is a positive move ahead not only when it comes to breeding, but also in racing.

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