One of the last of its kind horse racing tracks in Chicago has filed for bankruptcy, leaving something of an uncertain future for a community staple that recently underwent a significant remodel.
I have a personal connection to Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, IL. My dad and I used to spend one or two sleepy Sunday mornings at the track when I was a kid. My dad would order a pitcher or two of beer and let me browse the program to pick out a couple horses I liked. He would place a wager, and I would watch the horses race in awe. Even when I go back to Hawthorne, usually only once a year, it brings me back to a simpler time in my life.
There are a lot of legal gambling options now available to Chicagoans, but for decades horse racing attracted tens of thousands of them daily…