The Illinois Racing Board unanimously but reluctantly approved Arlington International Racecourse’s requested 68 race dates for 2020, even though owner Churchill Downs recently announced it would not pursue the casino license it had sought for decades. Board Chairman Jeffrey Brincat said the dates were approved at the 91-year old racetrack “for the good of racing in Illinois.”
Churchill Downs General Counsel Brad Blackwell emphasized the company was not going to shut down Arlington or move the track after 2021, despite the heavy tax load under the state’s new gambling law. A press release issued last month said the racino tax structure made the investment “untenable” and added it would consider “moving the racing license to another community in the Chicagoland area or elsewhere in the state,” and could not commit to live racing beyond 2021.
However, Churchill had lobbied for years for a racino license, along with other Illinois horseracing interests who have considered casino gambling the best way to boost declining horseracing purses. Blackwell said, “We’re still trying to figure this out. We don’t have all the answers now, but we’re committed to finding them. We would appreciate your patience as we do so.”
Churchill Downs officials said the corporation will invest in a sports-betting license once the Illinois Gaming Board finalizes the application process. Churchill Downs also owns Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, located just 11 miles from Arlington, and it’s hoping to open the newly authorized Waukegan casino.
Brincat said the board still wants Arlington to eventually pursue the 1,200 allowable slots and table games at the historic racetrack. He said, “We would like to see this continuously develop.” But Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association President Michael Campbell said, “I am deeply disappointed to see the board kick the can down the road. Churchill Downs was not held accountable. They have an obligation to racing. The genesis of their company was racing. It’s just wrong at every level.”
Hawthorne and Fairmount racetracks also received their race dates, along with a new harness racing and gambling venture proposed for Tinley Park by Hawthorne General Manager Tim Carey and video gambling developer Rick Heidner. Their company Playing in the Park LLC will open the state’s first new racetrack in nearly 75 years at the site of the shuttered Tinley Park Mental Health Center. The Racing Board approved their 12 requested race dates between December 6 and 29, 2020. The company still needs approval from the Illinois Gaming Board for up to 1,200 slot machines and table games.
Carey said their $450 million plan for Tinley Park includes a 4,000-seat grandstand, a concert festival ground in the middle of the mile-long track, plus a full backstretch, hotel, sportsbook, parking garage and upscale restaurant.
