Timeline: History of Arlington Park, 1927-2021

From its opening during the Roaring ’20s in the last century to its imminent closing in the pandemic ’20s of the new millennium, here is a timeline of the history of Arlington Park, most of it gleaned from contemporaneous reporting.

Oct. 13, 1927. Curly Brown, a California businessman who would eventually run a racecourse in Cuba, opened Arlington Park on a remote site 25 miles northwest of Chicago. More than 20,000 people showed up on that cold Wednesday afternoon to see Luxembourg win the track’s first race. 

1940. Ben Lindheimer, who for five years had owned Washington Park in the south suburbs of Chicago, bought a majority share of Arlington Park. 

May 2, 1946. A barn fire started by a neglected electric heater killed 22 Thoroughbreds at Arlington. A night watchman confessed he had gotten drunk and forgotten to turn off the heater in a tack room.

July 5, 1948. Barely three weeks after he won the Triple Crown, Citation finished first in the Stars and Stripes Stakes. His time of 1:49.2 over 1 1/8 miles tied the Arlington track record.

Related: Click here for Q&A with Arlington Heights mayor.

June 5, 1960. Lindheimer died. His adopted daughter, Marje Everett, inherited the Arlington, Washington and Balmoral racetracks, eventually putting them under the business title Chicago Thoroughbred Enterprises.

Aug. 24, 1968. Carrying 143 pounds, Dr. Fager set a world record of 1:32.2 in winning the one-mile Washington Park Handicap, a record that stood for 30 years. The race was held at Arlington after Washington had been converted exclusively to harness racing in 1964.

Oct. 8, 1968. Everett sold Arlington, Washington and Balmoral to Gulf+Western. She stayed on for another year as CEO before she was bought out with a 10 percent stake in Hollywood Park, which she would eventually control.

July 15, 1970. An IRS investigation of Everett’s 1966 federal income-tax return revealed she had sold Gov. Otto Kerner Jr. and one of his aides racetrack stock discounted 60 percent in exchange for better race dates at Arlington. Everett was not indicted. Kerner was convicted in 1973 of accepting a bribe, income-tax evasion, mail fraud, conspiracy and perjury. He served six months in prison.

June 30, 1973. Three weeks after his 31-length victory in the Belmont Stakes made him the first Triple Crown winner in a quarter-century, Secretariat won a 1 1/8-mile race written specifically for him. As the 1-20 favorite, he finished nine lengths clear in the $125,000 Arlington Invitational against three overmatched horses who were combined into a mutuel-field betting option.

Aug. 5, 1975. Only four years after he moved his team from Wrigley Field to Soldier Field, Chicago Bears owner George Halas told the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce that he would entertain the notion of a new stadium next to the racetrack at Arlington Park.

Aug. 30, 1981. Track president Joe Joyce was credited with starting the Arlington Million, the first thoroughbred race in the world to carry a seven-digit purse. Bill Shoemaker rode John Henry to a photo-finish victory over 40-1 long shot The Bart, a result that remains in dispute to this day for some losing bettors.

Aug. 19, 1983. A group of investors fronted by Joyce spent at least $19 million to buy Arlington Park from Gulf+Western. The partners included trotting executive Sheldon Robbins, businessman Ralph Ross and decorated World War II officer and Chicago native Richard Duchossois, the president of Thrall Car, Chamberlain Manufacturing and the Hill ’N Dale Farm breeding operation in Barrington, Ill.

July 31, 1985. An early-morning electrical fire got out of control and burned down the Arlington grandstand. Race dates were immediately shifted to Hawthorne Park.

Aug. 25, 1985. With temporary seating and marquees replacing the crumpled grandstand, 35,000 people showed up for the “Miracle Million,” which was won by the English horse Teleprompter.

May 31, 1986. Having bought out his partners in February, Duchossois was turned down by the Illinois General Assembly after he offered to build a $674 million racetrack in Lake County and a $625 million industrial complex on the property where Arlington burned down, all in exchange for tax breaks. At the time, Duchossois threatened to build a new track in Wisconsin.

Oct. 23, 1986. Chicago Bears president Michael McCaskey said he had begun conversations with Duchossois to discuss building a stadium on the Arlington Park property.

Sept. 8, 1987. Construction began on the current, six-story grandstand at Arlington.

Aug. 20, 1988. The eighth running of the Arlington Million was held at Woodbine near Toronto, where 4-year-old French horse Mill Native pulled off a 40-1 upset, the longest shot ever to win the race.

June 28, 1989. With the new $140 million grandstand completed, the track reopened under the name Arlington International Racecourse.

1995. Saying he needed a tax break and slot machines for Arlington to survive, Duchossois threatened to close the racecourse. He changed his mind after Illinois tracks were allowed to host simulcast wagering on out-of-state races.

July 13, 1996. Cigar won his 16th consecutive start, the Arlington Citation Classic, tying the modern-era U.S. record set by Citation.

Oct. 10, 1997. Saying he could not compete with gaming on riverboats, new casinos and lotteries, Duchossois closed Arlington Park with plans to find other uses for the track’s 326 acres.

May 14, 2000. After sitting idle for 2 1/2 years, Arlington reopened.

June 23, 2000. Duchossois sold Arlington Park to Churchill Downs Inc. for $71 million in stock representing 31 percent of the company. Under terms of the merger, he kept his role as president of the track and controlled a block of votes on the CDI executive committee and board of directors.

Oct. 26, 2002. Never before held in the Midwest, the Breeders’ Cup attracted 46,118 spectators to Arlington. The championships became the centerpiece of the “Fix Six” betting scandal. Volponi’s 43-1 upset in the Classic left only one winning ticket in the Pick 6. A subsequent investigation revealed that Autotote computer programmer Chris Harn had illegally changed that ticket to include horses that already had won the first four legs. Instead of winning $3,067,821.60, Harn and former fraternity brothers Derrick Davis and Glen DaSilva were indicted and imprisoned, and the money was split among the 78 bettors who legitimately picked 5 of 6 winners.

March 29, 2007. An $11 million project was started to convert Arlington’s main racecourse from dirt to Polytrack.

June 28, 2019. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that expanded legalized gambling in Illinois. Management at Arlington Park and horsemen had long sought the expansion to help restore the sport’s shrinking revenue in Illinois.

Aug. 28, 2019. Citing the higher tax rate Illinois would charge racetracks to expand their gambling options, CEO Bill Carstanjen said Churchill Downs Inc. would not seek a license to add slot machines and table games at Arlington Park. Instead, CDI applied to add sports wagering at its Rivers Casino in nearby Des Plaines, Ill.

Feb. 23, 2021. Churchill Downs Inc. announced it would sell Arlington Park and its 326 acres of land, committing to hold races there only through the 2021 season.

June 17, 2021. The Chicago Bears confirmed they made a bid to buy Arlington Park.

Aug. 14, 2021. Two Emmys scored a 27-1 upset to win the $600,000 Mister D. Stakes, the former Arlington Million that was renamed for Duchossois. It was the last Grade 1 race scheduled at the track.

Sept. 25, 2021. The final day of races is scheduled for Arlington.