(Last of a three-part series. Click to read Part 1 and Part 2)
It took six months to liquidate Arlington Park's assets. It will take a lot longer to erase the history and memories made there. The new owners will raze the building, maybe even sell off the fallen bricks, but they cannot erase the vision that Dick Duchossois once had for first-class racing in a beautiful, palatial facility near Chicago. His ambition and passion for racing made his dream a reality, but these qualities did not transfer to the new owners along with the land.
Pat Day stopped riding regularly at Arlington in 1993 but will forever be the track's second-leading rider. Day is wistful about Arlington's closing. “To say I am disappointed by the demise of Arlington Park would be an understatement,” said Day. “It was one of the finest racing facilities I have had the pleasure of riding at. (I'm) saddened that the efforts made to save this storied racetrack were unsuccessful. You would certainly think there could have been a way, but alas…not to be.”
One Dreamer, Marketing Mix, Carload, Linear and Indy Groove all won stakes at Arlington for Leonard and Bernice Lavin's Glen Hill Farm. Its VO5-colored silks were a familiar site on the track and in the Winner's Circle dating back to 1969. But in 2008, grandson Craig Bernick took over the farm's racing operations and five years later left Arlington for good.
“The purses were very poor, the horsemen were pushing for Illinois-bred initiatives, and management really only cared about (the Arlington Million),” Bernick lamented. “I felt like opportunities were better elsewhere. We were always going to come back if and when a casino came to town and purses became competitive so it's a real shame for us. Arlington was the most beautiful place and the experience for fans was probably the best of any track.”
Retired jockey Randy Meier wandered through Arlington Park's empty jockeys' room, searching for the sign congratulating him on his 4,000th lifetime win. That milestone came in 2007, two years before a riding accident there ended his career. Meier crossed the 3,500-win threshold at Arlington, too, and he knew both congratulatory signs had to be hiding somewhere. He aimed to get them before they disappeared, and finally found both in the silks room. It was empty save for the dry cleaner-like carousel that formerly blossomed with color. Now it stood like a skeleton. Meier grabbed his signs and reached out to his former competitors – E.T. Baird, Chris Emigh, Mark Guidry, Carlos Silva – whose milestone signs he'd also unearthed. There were no takers, and the signs now belong to strangers who got them the easy way: without breaking any bones.
Another former Arlington jockey found a precious artifact, too. Frankie Lovato, Jr., inventor of the Equicizer, shelled out $3,250 to buy a Kawai baby grand piano that formerly stood in Mr. Duchossois' private penthouse. It was catalogued next to an Equicizer Lovato built for Arlington in 2008, and he had a tough time deciding where to spend his money. “I wanted a memento of some kind, maybe a poster, garbage pail, or bench, even lusted over a furlong marker,” Lovato said. “But then I saw this baby grand. It was my lifelong dream (to own one), let alone this Kawai from Arlington!” When he's not building Equicizers, his fingers are tickling the keys in his Ohio home.
Ironically, Arlington's quarter pole (sold: $950) stands today in front of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association trailer on the Hawthorne backstretch.
Long-time rivals for prime Illinois racing dates, Hawthorne is now the only surviving racetrack in Chicagoland. A casino is currently under construction there.
If you missed out on the 20 Arlington auctions, you still have a chance to nab a memento: many items from the Grafe auctions have ended up on the secondary market. Need a trash can? Sold from Arlington in lots of 10 for about $50, you can find one on eBay for $35. Were you the unfortunate underbidder on a lot of 10 “Arlington Million 25th Running” ball caps? Don't fret; they're listed on eBay for $500.
Is there a resale market for a jockeys' room scale? Jeff Piluski thinks so. He bought one at the Arlington auction for $70. It's yours for a cool $5,000 on eBay.
On a dreary, cold January day, Grafe Auction Company sold the remaining assets of Arlington Park. Contents of the executive offices, things that didn't sell previously, things that were sold but never retrieved, even the sinks from the washrooms…tagged, sold, gone. Then Tony Petrillo, the last Arlington executive on the grounds, turned out the lights. It was done.
Many have asked what will happen to the iconic bronze statue, “Against All Odds,” which still overlooks the paddock. It depicts John Henry nosing out The Bart in the inaugural (1981) Arlington Million. It could have gone to the Arlington Heights Historical Museum or the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in Saratoga. It might have been auctioned for any number of worthy racing-related charities. Initially, CDI had considered moving it to Churchill Downs. Instead, rumors are swirling that it will be shipped to Colonial Downs in Virginia, now a CDI property, to go along with its newest race: the “Arlington” Million.
The plaque at the base of the statue reads, “During its entire history, Arlington International Racecourse displayed the desire, the courage and the ability to transform adversity into success.”
If only that were still true.
A lifelong racing fan, Patti Davis helped catalog Arlington Park's assets. She is a writer and editor based in Chicago.
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