Judge in Hawthorne case OKs subpoenas to go to Fairmount

The federal judge hearing the Hawthorne Race Course bankruptcy case authorized subpoenas Wednesday for depositions and papers after Fairmount Park was accused of intimidating horsemen who might choose the struggling Chicagoland course over the southern Illinois track.

In Chicago, judge Timothy Barnes told attorneys for Hawthorne and its creditors that they “are authorized to issue subpoenas for the production of documents from and for depositions of the relevant parties, including but not limited to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Fairmount Park, Jerry Costello and John Costello.”

Barnes’s decision was reported first by BloodHorse.

The Costellos were portrayed as having a conflict of interest in the April 17 decision to reduce Hawthorne’s annual grant from IDOA’s Thoroughbred fund by $316,895. Michael Brandess, an attorney representing a committee of the creditors whom Hawthorne owes more than $37 million, pointed out that Jerry Costello, the director who runs the IDOA, is the brother of John Costello, a lobbyist for the Fairmount-based Illinois Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.

John Costello shot back at the inference of favoritism.

“Any suggestion of impropriety is defamatory,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “I will allow the court system to address these false pleadings.”

Barnes, who did not offer specifics in his Wednesday order, presumably also wants to learn more about the group text messages that Hawthorne president Tim Carey described in court papers filed last Wednesday by attorneys led by Michael Brandess.

“Any horse entered at another track when a similar race has recently went or is offered here, the horse may not be allowed back on the grounds,” a May 6 group text said, according to Carey. “If Fairmount Park is your home, you need to support and participate in racing here, not elsewhere.”

Carey also quoted a text sent May 12 that said, “Unlike other racetracks that are in serious and possible fatal declines, Fairmount Park is on a definite upward swing that will continue to improve. Come race with us where the future is bright.”

Fairmount Park general manager Vince Gabbert, who also is a vice president for the track’s owner, Accel Entertainment, told Horse Racing Nation that the track did not formally respond to the accusations Wednesday. Otherwise he said he could not comment on the active court matter. Since Fairmount is not named on either side of the case, it is considered a third party.

One source with knowledge of the case told HRN that the decision to cut Hawthorne’s share of the Thoroughbred fund was based on the bigger drop in activity at the northern track. Last year Fairmount had 1,100 Illinois starters to Hawthorne’s 727. Since 2022, Illinois-bred races have held steady at 80 per year at Fairmount compared with a 50% drop to 27 at Hawthorne. In the same four-season span, Hawthorne ran 15% fewer races per year with 494 in 2025 while Fairmount dropped 1% to 419.

The conflict-of-interest portrayal also came in for clarification. In last week’s filing on behalf of Hawthorne and a committee representing the creditors, Brandess said, “John Costello ... was recently retained as the lobbyist for the Fairmount Park horsemen’s group.” The source said Costello was hired for that job 10 years ago, before his brother became head of the IDOA in 2020.

“The state funds discussed in Hawthorne’s recent bankruptcy filing have followed the same allocation process each and every year,” John Costello told the Tribune. “The allegations about me being ‘recently retained’ for some nefarious purpose are false.”

Hawthorne filed for bankruptcy protection Feb. 27. With the approval of Barnes, it got a $16 million line of credit from Chicago-based JDI Loans to cover money owed to horsemen and to get the current Thoroughbred season started. That loan comes due Aug. 1.

Barnes also approved a request Wednesday for Hawthorne to pay $32,000 to Pro Forma Advisors of Hermosa Beach, Calif. The company was asked to do a feasibility study on the building of a casino at Hawthorne. Lacking investor money, Carey has been unable to green-light the project that has been stalled for nearly six years. He has said a casino will make or break the future of the track, which his family has owned and operated since 1909.