During the Governor’s daily 2:30 press conference today he mentioned that within the next few days his staff will release safety precautions for a few open aired industries that will be able to open on Friday, May 29. Hopefully, as we have said many times, horse racing is one of those industries. Wish we could be more conclusive, but we simply cannot. As soon as any news comes our way, we’ll let everyone know immediately. We will also let you know the plan for qualifiers and an adjusted stakes schedule if necessary.

Our legislative team, along with the ITHA and the ILHBPA, have been active in Springfield the past three days. The session hasn’t concluded yet, but we are still working on a few things for the betterment of our industry.

We will update again as soon as we hear anything meaningful. Stay tuned. Thanks.

Good interview by Jim Miller from Hawthorne. Scroll down to listen.

https://670thescore.radio.com/hawthorne-race-course-hopes-reopen-last-weekend-in-may-coronavirus

SpringfieldStateJournalRegister_20200520_23_0

Fox News Chicago reported on our attempts to return to live racing. Click below.

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/illinois-harness-leaders-push-to-begin-horse-racing-again-amid-covid-19-pandemic

There has been some active discussions the last few days regarding Hawthorne hosting qualifiers this Wednesday but it has been decided that they should be postponed until further notice. The goal is to have qualifiers as soon as possible. We will let everyone know as soon as we get the go-ahead. Thanks.

As we continually strive to seek the Governor’s approval on returning to work, we put out this press release today. We respect and appreciate the Governor’s concern for public safety but we believe we can return to spectator free racing, following the guidelines listed in “Phase 3” of the restoring Illinois plan. Be smart, stay safe.

May 15 Press Release