Impact of Arlington’s closing on Illinois racing in ’22 is revealed

Chicago 

Not only will Arlington Park not have any racing next year, Chicagoland will not have any live Thoroughbred action next summer.

That was one effect of a 7-0 vote Thursday by the Illinois Racing Board to approve racing dates for 2022 at Hawthorne Park in Stickney, 12 miles from the Chicago Loop, and at Fairmount Park, 13 miles from St. Louis.

With Arlington closing for the last time Saturday and Churchill Downs Inc. intent to sell the track to a non-racing interest, Hawthorne will host 76 Thoroughbred cards in April, May, June, October, November and December. That represents a 36 percent drop from the 118 racing days in 2021, including Hawthorne’s 50 and Arlington’s 68.

“Thoroughbred horsemen will have fewer racing dates overall, but their average overnight purses will increase by about 50 percent,” Hawthorne president Tim Carey told the IRB. “This increase is mainly because Hawthorne will be the host for the entire year.”

Carey also said the Hawthorne racecourse will be converted four times during the coming year in order to accommodate harness racing in January, February, March, July, August and early September.

“It’s going to be very challenging,” Carey said. “We’re up for it. We can’t wait to do it.”

Horsemen, however, were more circumspect about racing life after Arlington.

“I really believe we’re at rock bottom,” said David McCaffrey, executive director of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “With Arlington’s absence next year, you’re seeing the importance of that second track playing out, because both groups (Thoroughbreds and standardbreds) are having to share Hawthorne. The importance of a two-track system in northern Illinois cannot be overstated.”

Carey expressed hope that purses will continue to grow once Hawthorne opens a long-awaited casino on its property.

“Now we have the opportunity, and we are going to seize it,” he said. “We are investing $400 million into Hawthorne, because we believe in Illinois racing. From a facilities standpoint, everything you know about Hawthorne will change.”

Again, though, horsemen expressed frustration with the delays in getting the casino built, especially after a successful, two-decade push to get the state to legalize gambling in order to help racing pay its bills.

“The reality is that the gaming bill was passed two years ago, and we still don’t have the first quarter of income from that casino,” ITHA president Mike Campbell said. “When is it going to happen? What can we rely on? With Arlington’s supposed demise, where does that leave us? I’m afraid we’re going to have a bad ending if something doesn’t happen very quickly to fuel these purses with racino money.”

One of the commissioners who voted to approve the racing dates made his disdain for the reduced calendar clear with five minutes of prepared remarks at the end of Thursday’s meeting.

“The fault for this calendar belongs to Churchill Downs Inc.,” Alan Henry said. “It has been the work of corporate single-mindedness. The argument can be made that the closing of Arlington Park will be a brutal, spear cut through the entire sport. Its demise would be yet another bloody stain on the hands of CDI. It’s not too late to make it right. Save this racetrack.”

Fairmount Park was granted its request for 61 racing dates, up from 53 this year. Its meet will run from April 19 to Sept. 24.