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* Daily Herald this morning…
The short-term future of Arlington International Racecourse rests in the hands of the Illinois Racing Board, which on Tuesday plans to press parent company Churchill Downs for answers about its long-term plans for the storied racing mecca. […]
The board a week ago delayed its annual vote on racing dates after leveling criticism at Churchill for its decision not to apply for long-sought slots and table games at Arlington. Revenue from those casino-style games would help boost declining horse race purses and, supporters believe, resuscitate Illinois’ declining horse racing industry. […]
[Churchill Downs] also hasn’t committed to racing at Arlington beyond 2021.
* Daily Herald this afternoon…
The Illinois Racing Board voted unanimously today to award 68 racing dates next year to Arlington International Racecourse, erasing concerns that last week’s races may have been the last in the storied track’s history.
The 9-0 vote comes a week after board members lambasted track owner Churchill Downs over its decision not to seek a casino license that had long been hailed as a lifeline for the struggling racing industry. […]
In the 9-0 vote to award race dates to Arlington from May through September, board members said they didn’t want to disrupt the upcoming racing season.
But they still sought assurances for the future.
Churchill argued that not granting the 2020 racing dates would have meant an immediate loss of jobs, an argument that ultimately won over racing board officials.
Tony Petrillo, senior vice president of Churchill Downs, read a letter from Arlington Heights village President Thomas Hayes at today’s meeting, in which he noted the roughly 4,000 people who work at Arlington each season. […]
Brad Blackwell, senior vice president and general counsel of Churchill Downs, told the board today that they “did not say we would not race past 2021. In fact, we didn’t mean to say anything about that at all” in a recent statement, but he did not elaborate on the company’s future plans regarding gaming at the site. “We’re still trying to figure this out.”
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 3:59 pm
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As satisfying as it might have been, not awarding any dates to Arlington would have been a cut-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face moment for the racing industry.
Comment by Roman Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 4:08 pm
===We’re still trying to figure this out.”====
In other words try to put pressure on the horsemen to take a lot smaller cut.
Comment by Been There Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 4:09 pm
And I agree with Roman at least for now. But after Hawthorne has their casino up and running and the south suburban track gets built so that the harness guys can move there, then there will be no reason not to award most, of not all, of the thoroughbred dates to them.
Comment by Been There Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 4:12 pm
Arlington wants no part of deal that eliminates any casino profit potential, as State takes 30 pct cut
Comment by JR Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 4:20 pm
===We’re still trying to figure this out.”====
===In other words try to put pressure on the horsemen to take a lot smaller cut.===
The statement above by @Been There is all you really need to know about this issue with Arlington. It’s the Hatfields vs the McCoys with Arlington and the horsemen. They now think they have the power to change the gaming law like Chicago wants to or even the South Suburbs. Man veto session is going to be interesting.
Comment by Nagidam Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 4:30 pm
And it’s Commonsense by a nose over TakeMyBall&GoHome. DignityforTrackWorkers finishes a distant third.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 4:55 pm
Selfishly happy I can look forward to a few days next
year at Arlington.
Win or lose(mostly lose), I always enjoy a visit to Arlington Park Race Course.
Comment by Back to the Future Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 4:55 pm
The Racing Board didn’t face a binary choice.
It could have fashioned an order that at least made Arlington uncomfortable–
*Order a minimum purse guarantee;
*Insist on actually running races for Illinois-breds (instead of writing impossible-to-meet conditions in their IB races so they won’t fill and can be cancelled);
*Take away some dark host dates (the days when no local track is racing so the ‘dark host’ gets all the proceeds from OTB bets made on out-of-state tracks);
*Require Arlington to waive a portion of its $4 million recapture money (a transfer of money out of the purse account to the track’s pocket, a practice unique to Illinois and a fundamental reason why Illinois did so much worse than other racino-less states);
*Refuse to grant dates for the Million unless Arlington agreed to fund specific purse supplements.
It did none of this. It could have done all or some of this without forcing the track to close.
Today was the Board’s only opportunity to assert its statutory authority, and it chose not to do so. I thought things would be different under Governor Pritzker, but they are not. Arlington still runs the Racing Board.
Comment by northsider (the original) Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 5:05 pm
That was some mighty tough talk last week. Not so much today.
Comment by SSL Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 5:16 pm
Kudos to 47th ward for the race call. All arlington did today was somewhat agree to run for 1 more year. The end remains near . Arlington is going the way of Hollywood park and Calder in florida . Both places where churchill ended racing…
Comment by Woodstock willy Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 6:37 pm
Arlington gave a giant middle finger to the racing industry and the state by not pursuing its license. Today, the RACING BOARD, of all things, said “No problem Arlington. We’re sorry we bothered you last week by suggesting you do something for racing and the state.”
Comment by Horse’s Mouth Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 7:36 pm
CDI sold Hollywood Park way before racing ended there, They still own Calder, for the Poker room and Casino potential, just leased there racing dates to Gulfstream as GP West first and now at GP itself.
As I’ve said before, recapture of the purse accounts killed Illinois racing. original northsider also mentioned this fact earlier.
Comment by qualified someone nobody sent Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 10:54 pm
===Arlington wants no part of deal that eliminates any casino profit potential, as State takes 30 pct cut===
LOL. Yeah, how can anyone be expected to scrape by on 70% of Gross Receipts. Who’d take a deal like that? Uhm, that line you see snaking around the block is loaded with qualified applicants.
Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, Sep 25, 19 @ 5:32 am