Historic Balmoral Park to close

Historic Balmoral Park in Crete, which has hosted horse racing since 1926 when it opened as Lincoln Fields, will be forced to close next year due to a decision by the Illinois Racing Board to award harness racing dates only to Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero.

Balmoral Park will apparently remain open for the rest of the year after a verbal agreement was reached between the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association and Balmoral’s owners, with races every Friday and Saturday. However, a posting on the harness association’s website warns that a bankruptcy could be forced on the track by casino owners, forcing Balmoral to close earlier…Please click here to read Phil Kadner’s column in the Tribune/Daily Southtown.