Hawthorne Race Course concluded its 83-day live meeting on January 13 with declines in average daily on-track handle and average daily out-of-state handle.

Average daily on-track mutuel handle declined 7.2% from $149,160 during the previous fall meeting to $138,463. Out-of-state average daily mutuel handle declined 0.9% from $2,308,083 in 2007 to $2,288,462.

“I’m very pleased with the fall Thoroughbred meet,” Hawthorne President Tim Carey said. “Like many tracks, we are facing a large movement of wagering to [advanced deposit wagering] and on top of that, we are having to battle against surrounding states that are helped by additional gaming revenue. That being said, I think we held our own very nicely.”

Hawthorne closed strongly with double-digit increases in total mutuel handle during the final two weeks of the meeting.

The suburban Chicago track conducted ten extra days of live racing in January compared with the previous fall meeting. The January dates will replace days run at the start of Hawthorne’s spring meeting, which typically opens in late February or early March.

“I was very happy to see how strong we finished as our numbers that final two weeks showed that racing in Chicago in January is quite popular, not only with horsemen but our patrons as well,” Carey said. “We are off to a great start in 2008, and I expect this to be a very strong year for Hawthorne and for racing in the state of Illinois.”

Frank Kirby won two races on the last day of the meeting and led all trainers with 39 wins. Mike Reavis finished second among trainers with 37 wins.

Tim Thornton edged away from Chris Emigh in the final three days of the meeting and led all riders with 92 wins. Emigh finished second with 89 victories.