Mike Campbell, president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, told the Thoroughbred Daily News on Friday that he knows of several parties interested in purchasing Arlington Park for racing purposes. However, Campbell also said that Churchill Downs, Inc., current owner of Arlington, is only interested in selling the track for redevelopment.
“We reached out to them as a group of horsemen to see if they would allow us to pursue buying the track for pari-mutuel racing only and were told that Churchill had no interest in talking to us,” an anonymous source told the TDN.
CDI announced the sale of Arlington on Feb. 23, 2021, indicating that it would host live racing at the Illinois track through the 2021 season, which is scheduled to end on Sept. 25.
“It would do (CDI) no harm and it would not put them at a competitive disadvantage if there continued to be racing at Arlington Park beyond 2021,” Campbell told the TDN. “There would be no competition for their casino (in Des Plaines, Illinois). Gamblers who gamble on slot machines and table games, they are a different breed from horseplayers. The frustrating part for those of us who want to save this historical, iconic racetrack is the fact that everything you can glean from this speaks to Churchill wanting to not allow even racing there. That's baffling to me.”
Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.
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