Hawthorne Race Course
| Horse Race Track | |
|---|---|
| Hawthorne Race Course | |
 |
|
| Location |
Stickney/Cicero, Illinois United States |
| Owned by | Carey Family |
| Opened: | 1891 |
| Race type: |
Thoroughbred Horse Racing Spring & Fall |
| Website: | www.hawthorneracecourse.com |
| Principal Races – Hawthorne Race Course | |
| Hawthorne Gold Cup (G II) | |
| Illinois Derby (G III) | |
| Hawthorne Derby (G III) | |
Coordinates: 41°49′37″N 87°44′38″W / 41.827°N 87.744°W
Hawthorne Race Course is a racetrack for horse racing in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, near Chicago.
The oldest continually run family-owned racetrack in North America, in 2009 the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America. Of the top ten, Hawthorne was ranked No. 8.
In 1890, Edward Corrigan, a Chicago businessman who owned the 1890 Kentucky Derby winner, Riley (by Longfellow), bought 119 acres (0.48 km2) of land in Cicero and started constructing a grandstand for a new racecourse. His track opened in 1891 with a five-race card including the featured Chicago Derby. In 1902, the grandstand burned to the ground, which moved all racing to the Harlem racetrack in Chicago. The reopened track held a 12-day summer meet at its own facility later that year.
In 1905, horse racing was banned in Chicago, leading to the closure of Hawthorne. The field was used briefly by pioneer aviators Victor and Allan Haines Loughead in 1910 to fly a powered Montgomery glider and a Curtiss pusher.
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