The mighty Whirlaway won his first career race at Lincoln Fields on June 3, 1940, and later went on to win the coveted Triple Crown the following year.

[citation needed] Lincoln Fields was shut down in 1942 due to World War II restrictions.

[citation needed] In 1955, Benjamin Lindheimer put together the Balmoral Jockey Club which purchased Lincoln Fields.

William S. Miller, a self-made millionaire and horse breeder, and his partners purchased Balmoral Park in 1967.

Early in 1987, Balmoral Park was sold to the family of George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, and a group of local track operators headed by Billy Johnston and his sons John and Duke.

That same year, Illinois became the first state to permit race tracks to own and operate off-track betting facilities.

On June 26, 1988, Balmoral Park hosted North America's first World Driving Championship, which originally began in Germany in 1972.

Drivers from 14 countries participated, with Oddvar Maeland of Norway and Jans Stampp of Germany emerging as victors.

Bill Shoemaker, North America's winningest jockey, won the event, defeating Jean Cruguet, Pat Day, Sandy Hawley, Julie Krone, Laffit Pincay Jr., Randy Romero, Ray Sibille and Jacinto Vásquez.

Over the next few years, Balmoral held several races in conjunction with the World Driving Championships hosting drivers from 16 countries.

The 5⁄8 mile track was eliminated that year, but a state-of-the-art lighting system was installed on the one-mile (1.6 km) oval.

On January 25, 2014, harness racing ambassador and longtime supporter of Balmoral Park, Tony Maurello, died at age 93.

The Tony Maurello Winner's Circle was dedicated in his honor on September 13 of the same year, during the 2014 Super Night festivities.

The closure was the result of a financial burden from a United States Court of Appeals ruling that Illinois racetracks had to pay casinos restitution.

The Alternatives Analysis for the SouthEast Service line was completed in 2010 and specified a southern terminus at a proposed station near the racetrack.

The SouthEast Service has a total of 13 proposed stations to serve Balmoral Park and the South and Far South Suburbs: Services to Gresham, Bronzeville and LaSalle Street Station would be shared with the Rock Island Line to take advantage of existing infrastructure as well as provide easy access to Chicago's Downtown Loop and its CTA public transit system.