A horse racetrack in Crete is on the market for $1.29 million and the real estate broker behind the property has a family connection to horse racing in Illinois. (Nick Oosting)
By Hank Sanders | Daily Southtown
Just off the corner of East Bemes Road and South Klemme Road in Crete is a 68-acre property with a sprawling horse racing track, a 85 stall barn and a swimming pool for horses.
The price tag? A cool $1,299,000.
But perhaps the most interesting part of this rare listing is who is listing the space. Real estate broker Nick Oosting of McColly Bennett Real Estate Bourbonnais has a rich family history that is tied into one of the most storied race tracks in the state.
“My family has been in the horse racing business my entire life. My dad is actually a jockey or he’s a driver, for harness race horses,” Oosting said of his father, Michael. “He was driver of the year for Balmoral Park six, seven, years. I actually sold Balmoral Park not too long ago.”
The 85-stall barn on the property at 2400 E Bemes Road in Crete. (Nick Oosting)
Balmoral, which operated races in Crete beginning in 1926, hosted its final harness races the day after Christmas in 2015 after track owners filed for bankruptcy when no 2016 harness racing dates were issued by the Illinois Racing Board.
More recently, Balmoral is been used by ground’s owners as truck parking lot.
The Oosting family is horse racing royalty in Chicago, according Standardbred Canada, which tracks horse racing events around the world. Standardbred called Michael Oosting a “veteran reinsman” “who has become a fixture atop the driver standings on the Chicago circuit over the past 10-plus years.” Michael has more than 7,000 total wins.
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