The IHHA wants everyone to know that we are in constant communication with the Illinois Dept. of Agriculture and Hawthorne to find the quickest and safest way to return to work. The Governor will ultimately make the decision on when the time is right. He has issued a “stay at home order” until April 30. That order has included shutting down all non-essential businesses. We are hopeful that we will return to racing shortly thereafter but that is still to be determined. We should hear something within the next week on whether we get the green light to race or not. We will get the word out as soon as we hear something either way. Hang in there, stay safe.

As a reminder, stake payments for the Illinois Dept. of Agriculture stakes are still DUE APRIL 15th. Go to https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/agr/Animals/HorseRacing/Documents/genericpaymentform.pdf for more information.

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During these extremely difficult times, the IHHA wants to encourage anyone who needs a helping hand, to reach out to us. We understand that horsemen are an incredibly resilient group but we are also aware that we are living through a truly unique situation. If you or your family or your horses are in dire straits and have nowhere to turn to, please don’t hesitate to call the IHHA office at 630-323-0808 and leave a message on how we can contact you. We will keep this as confidential as possible. You can also reach out to Clark Fairley at 217-276-1118, Angie Coleman at 312-287-4613, Hosea Williams at 312- 909-5043, John Zawistowski at 815-530-3465, Craig Grummel at 618-541-1205, Steve Searle at 815-685-0249, Merv Chupp at 708-205-3670 or any other IHHA director that you may know. Be smart and be safe.

The IHHA understands that during these trying times everyone is seeking answers to what the future holds. We wish we could be more specific in our announcements but unfortunately so much information is unclear and changing every hour. What we do know is that racing has been shut down by order of the Governor’s office. We are hoping to return to racing on May 1^st but right now that is simply a target date and not written in stone. Is there a chance we can get back to racing sooner than that? Possibly, but unlikely. Is there a chance we could be shut down further? It is possible but just like so many other citizens of Illinois, we just don’t know. We are keenly aware of how difficult this situation is for everyone and we will work to get back to racing as soon as it is safe enough to do so but the final decision is ultimately not ours.

Click on the link below to read some developments on new programs and packages that have evolved since the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 Links

Billy Johnston, 84, dies