Cahokia Downs was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 horse racing

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 track located on Highway 15

Illinois Route 15

Illinois Route 15 is an east–west highway with its western terminus at Illinois Route 3, U.S. Route 40, I-55, I-64, and I-70 and its eastern terminus at Wabash River at the Illinois/Indiana Border where it meets Indiana 64. This is a distance of ....

 near the town of Alorton

Alorton, Illinois

Alorton is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,749 at the 2000 census.Alorton was home to Cahokia Downs, an American horse racing track located on Highway 15 which hosted both Standardbred harness racing and Thoroughbred flat racing events from 1954 through...

, St. Clair County

St. Clair County, Illinois

St. Clair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau placed the mean center of U.S. population in St. Clair County. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 270,056, which is an increase of 5.5% from 256,082 in 2000. Its county seat is...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. Run by the East St. Louis Jockey Club, the facility opened in 1954 and hosted both Standardbred harness racing

Harness racing

Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...

 and Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 flat racing

Flat racing

Flat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles...

 events.

At Cahokia Downs on October 18, 1978, jockey David Gall

David A. Gall

David Allen Gall is a retired Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who, as of June 2009, ranks fifth in lifetime wins by North American jockeys, and who was the first jockey in the United States to ride eight winners on a single racecard.Gall began his career riding at tracks in Regina,...

 became the first rider in United States Thoroughbred horse racing to win eight races on a single racecard.http://www.equinekingdom.com/today_history/october_history.htm

In October of 1979 the Illinois Racing Commission refused to authorize any 1980 racing dates for Cahokia Downs and on April 2, 1980 the business filed for bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

. The track never reopened.