An earlier report includes an article that says Churchill Downs refuses to discuss sale of Arlington Park for racing purposes, rebuffing several overtures by horsemen groups. They want the place redeveloped for another purpose only.
Read that aggregation from reporting by Thoroughbred Daily News here.
Isn't it time for Chicago horsemen to go to court and get an injunction against CD, which has shown total disregard for AP's horsemen and their livelihoods?
When they purchased Arlington Park from Richard Duchossois, it was with the intent of making AP a great racetrack, expanded to include casino gambling when it became available. That ship sailed while Churchill refused to undertake the opportunity to build a casino when given, and now they want to raze yet another great historic racetrack.
Mr. D rebuilt this track from the ground up after a devastating fire in 1985. Anyone who has visited there knows it is a first class facility, with great and historic racing. The Arlington Million comes to mind, with John Henry — now demoted by Churchill to the Arlington 600K. Or the brilliant Dr. Fager's (still standing) mile world record [in the 1968 Washington Park Handicap].
Chicagoland has already lost Sportsman's Park. Hawthorne cannot carry the year-round load. It is time for the government to step in – anti-trust, anti-competition, find something to prevent yet another racetrack from being torn down.
Lament for Hollywood Park, Bay Meadows, Rockingham, Suffolk Downs, Aksarben, Hialeah, Calder, and a dozen other tracks now gone the way of the buffalo. Don't let AP be another casualty: not without a fight. CD is a merciless competitor who has forgotten its origins – more interested in making money than in preserving the industry that gave them rise.
–Frank Ingrassia, racing fan, retired software developer of handicapping products The Horse Expert and SQL Performance Analyzer
If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, please write to info at paulickreport.com and include contact information where you may be reached if editorial staff have any questions.
The post Letter To The Editor: Illinois Horsemen Need To Wage Legal Battle To Save Arlington appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
