Illinois Purse Increases: ‘A Band-Aid On A Gushing Wound’

Purses will be on the short-term rise at the tracks in Illinois, thanks to a pair of recent money recovery efforts initiated by the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA).

One increase at the current Thoroughbred meet at Hawthorne Race Course that will be effective June 15-July 15 involves an 18% across-the-board purse bump derived from a claw-back of funds related to the closure of Arlington International Racecourse.

A separate initiative required passage of a bill in the Illinois Legislature on its final day of the session last month. That action transferred $5.1 million of a surplus in the state's Horse Racing Fund to purses at both the Thoroughbred and Standardbred meets at Hawthorne, plus the Thoroughbred meet at FanDuel Racing (more commonly known as Fairmount Park).

David McCaffrey, the ITHA's executive director, told commissioners at Thursday's Illinois Racing Board (IRB) meeting that while horsemen are grateful for any help they can get, the influxes will only provide temporary financial relief.

“This is a terrific band-aid,” McCaffrey said, speaking specifically about the money from the Horse Racing Fund. “Make no mistake, it's a band-aid on a gushing wound that is Illinois racing, because things are at their all-time worst right now.”

According to an explanation posted in the ITHA's website, After Arlington closed in September 2021, that track's corporate management “attempted to keep hundreds of thousands of dollars from the horsemen's purse account. Arlington eventually folded in its attempt to keep the money after ITHA pursued litigation against Arlington, compelling the track to release the money. ITHA is now directing the remaining settlement funds to Hawthorne purses, which will account for the purse increase from June 15 to July 15.”

The separate $5.1-million transfer comes from the Horse Racing Fund, which McCaffrey said is largely derived from a 1.5% tax on all bets placed on Illinois racing. Traditionally, that fund accumulates and operates at surplus, and it had grown to “about $10 million” by the beginning of 2023, McCaffrey said.

Starting back in January, McCaffrey said, The ITHA, the IRB, and other stakeholders had lobbied for the passage of a law that would direct about half of the surplus toward Thoroughbred and Standardbred purses.

The ITHA's website noted that the Hawthorne share for the Thoroughbred purse account will be $2.295 million, and that the increase from the fund will go into effect “possibly starting in mid-July, upon the expiration of the [separate] purse increase beginning June 15.”

Racinos became legal in Illinois in 2019, but they aren't up and running yet at Hawthorne or FanDuel.

“Hopefully, it gives us a bridge to get to racinos when they start producing some revenue,” McCaffrey said.

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From Great Lakes Downs to the Derby

The colt had been getting a little fractious in the gate and now he half sat down: too low for Jareth Loveberry to climb out, but not low enough to scramble underneath. “Get me out!” the jockey hollered. He was just trying to lift himself clear when his mount came back up and pinned a calf against the steel. The pain was excruciating. It was only five seconds or so before they got the gate open but that was enough, as they stretched him out, for the agony to be instantly submerged beneath a still keener anguish.

“I'm laying on the ground and I'm like, 'Oh no, oh my gosh, could I miss my opportunity?'” he recalls now. “For all the pain, that's what I'm thinking about. 'Man, am I going to miss my opportunity?'”

Opportunity, note: singular not plural. For jockeys, chances come and go, and eventually tend to establish a familiar spectrum. At 35, Loveberry has ridden close to 13,000 races but had only had two Grade III winners before he won a Colonial Downs maiden last summer on a Hard Spun colt trained by Larry Rivelli. The partnership followed up in a stakes at Canterbury Park, and then tested much deeper water in the GI Breeders' Futurity S. at Keeneland in October. Starting rank outsiders, they duly finished seventh behind crop leader Forte (Violence). Yet it was only then, paradoxically, that Loveberry recognized that single, elusive opportunity: the horse that could break the ceiling that congeals and closes over most journeyman careers.

“He got beat,” Loveberry acknowledges. “But you learn a lot in defeat, and I loved him more that day than in his wins. He was jostled around really hard, and he wasn't sure about it. Down the backside, he'd dropped the bit. I'm like, 'Okay, did you just shut off because you're done fighting me, or are you just done?' And then we're coming around the second turn and I just picked the bridle up on him a little bit and he took off again.”

Not done, then.

“Something just clicked,” Loveberry continues. “He did get tired, but I'm thinking for the first time we've got something here. If we can just get him back, behind horses, he relaxes. And afterwards I was like, 'Larry, this horse is… nice. He's a lot better horse than we thought.'”

Sure enough, Two Phil's has since made us all get used to that rogue apostrophe. He won the GIII Street Sense S. by five lengths plus, over the same surface that will stage the GI Kentucky Derby in a couple of weeks' time; and podium finishes in two of the Fair Grounds trials this winter convinced Loveberry that Two Phil's was indeed maturing into a credible Derby candidate. Moreover the jockey was himself sharing the momentum, standing second in the meet standings. But suddenly here he was, three weeks before the horse's final prep in the GIII Jeff Ruby S. at Turfway, lying on his back with a horrible suspicion that he had broken his leg.

“Yeah, I couldn't sleep that night—for a couple of reasons,” Loveberry recalls. “Because of the pain, but also just thinking that I was going to miss this horse, miss my opportunity. Did I need to pack everything in New Orleans, come home? So next morning I saw the specialist. It was nerve-racking, going in there, it hurt really bad. My boot was putting a lot of pressure where the fracture was. But taking that off relieved it a lot. Maybe there was a hope against hope.”

Yes, there was. They took an X-ray of the fibula, and it proved to be a hairline fracture. “Look,” said the specialist. “It's not bad. You can start putting weight on it and get around and I'll see you in a couple of weeks.”

In the meantime, inevitably, the vultures were circling. “Man, are you going to make it back?” Rivelli asked.

Loveberry was as reassuring as possible.

“Well, we got some phone calls!” replied Rivelli. “But I'm holding out for you.”

A week after the accident, Loveberry saw another specialist back home in Chicago. The bone had healed so well that the very next morning he went out and breezed Two Phil's at Hawthorne. When he came in, Rivelli said: “All right, now I can tell everybody you're riding him.”

Two Phil's and Jareth Loveberry win the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. | Coady Photography

So while Loveberry was still riding in a brace even this week, and still tender, this had turned out the most literal of lucky breaks. Because Two Phil's duly won the Jeff Ruby with such authority that many people are wondering whether he can become the second consecutive Derby winner to graduate from that synthetic trial.

Certainly he certainly goes into the Derby as the undisputed blue-collar rooting interest. The horse is a yearling buyback, named for two octogenarian Phils in the ownership group. Rivelli, a stalwart of the Midwest circuit, would be within his rights to stand in the Churchill winner's circle and berate the track's owners for closing his spiritual home at Arlington. And all you need to know about Loveberry himself is the advice he always gives to aspiring young jockeys: “Work your ass off to get there—and when you get there, work harder.”

But while he will bring all due humility to the giddiest opportunity of his life, he will not suffer the slightest vertigo.

“Looking back, it's crazy: to go from a five-eighths bull-ring to the Kentucky Derby,” he admits. “In between it's been 18 years of just riding all over the place, different spots, different class levels. But I think that has made me what I am, starting from the bottom.”

The bull-ring was Great Lakes Downs in Michigan.

“It was only open for maybe 10 years, but that's where I started racing in 2005,” he recalls. “I'd walked across the street to a horse farm when I was 12 years old, just for a summer job cleaning stalls. They had Thoroughbreds, and I started getting on them when I was 14. And just fell in love. You can't really explain it. My dad's in construction, my mom's in banking. But I just felt comfortable around those horses. It just works. I like going around, seeing my horses every day. I feed them peppermints, I graze them, whatever I can do to help them out.”

On these foundations, a guy who started out in college to become an architect has built a career that has so far yielded 1,759 winners. Many were eked out at the basement level, from Ohio to Oklahoma; but he has made incremental gains in quality, especially over the past couple of years. In 2021, for instance, he tipped $3 million for the first time at a win ratio of 23 percent; while last year he broke into the top 50 riders nationally with earnings exceeding $5 million.

So while Loveberry also had the rug pulled from under his feet by the closure of Arlington, his success in the Fair Grounds colony has now opened the door to the Kentucky circuit. And the Two Phil's adventure is certainly all the sweeter for the involvement of such a longstanding ally.

“It really is,” Loveberry says. “I've been riding for Larry since 2011 and he's just a great guy. So with him having been so loyal to me, and me trying to be as loyal as I can to him too, it's great for us both to be going to our first Derby together. Larry is tough to ride for, but great to ride for. I mean, you obviously want him to be tough, because you want to win: he works hard, he's there at the barn all the time, and he's really good at placing his horses. Once he finds a good horse, he really manages that horse, always picks the right spots to develop them. Instead of doing it like a machine, I guess. He has great help at the barn, too, they really focus on the horse.”

Two Phil's, as such, is a typical project. Though actually unavailable for his debut, Loveberry has been part of the horse's development from his earliest works. And, just like his jockey, Two Phil's has the kind of seasoning that is increasingly uncommon in the Derby field. With so many contenders nowadays arriving on a light schedule, Two Phil's will be a relatively gritty veteran of eight starts.

“I think that's very beneficial for him,” Loveberry emphasizes. “Having experienced so many different races and surroundings, he's going to be a well-rounded horse. He's been in tight. He's been in front, and farther off of it. He's been in slop. He's really seen a lot of different things, and that maturity will help in a spot like that. Because he has just kept developing. He was green early on, and can get a little quirky, but I've learned about him over the last year and now he's able to shut off and give that high cruising speed, which I think his daddy had too.

“At Fair Grounds he had a three-month layoff from the Street Sense to the [GIII] Lecomte S. He got tired in that race but ever since I've been like, 'Man, Larry, he's getting better and getting smarter all the time.' And in the Jeff Ruby he put it all together. I don't think it was about the surface. He's won on dirt, wet dirt, synthetic. A good horse will run on anything, and he's proven thatAnd I just think he's peaking at the right time.”

Likewise his jockey, who rode with all due verve and confidence at Turfway.

“I was just sitting and sitting, and looking for the one [favorite Major Dude (Bolt d'Oro)],” Loveberry recalls. “I see him make a bit of a move on the inside, so I just gave him a little smooch and he did the rest. His gallop out that day, the outrider had to help pull me up, he was really full of himself.”

Actually the outrider's horse slammed right into his injured leg. Ouch. But the man they call “J Love”—as stitched into his breeches—hardly needed that jolt to remain grounded. As a family man, with two young kids, nothing is going to skew his priorities at this stage.

“I think I've had some good opportunities to help get me to this spot,” Loveberry says, contemplating the 20-horse stampede ahead. “I've learned from other riders that have been through it, they've given me pointers here and there. But I've never looked at any race and said, 'Oh, I have to win that for my career.' Obviously you want to win the Kentucky Derby. All eyes are on it. But is it the be-all and end-all? No. If we just put our best foot forward, keep level-headed, I think that goes a long ways. When you start overthinking it, that's when you start making mistakes. So let's just keep headed in the right direction, and hope he's healthy going in the race.”

But the reason he won't be getting ahead of himself, the reason he will be staying calm, is also the reason to be excited.

“I mean, it's horse racing,” Loveberry says, with a shrug and a smile. “Anything could happen.”

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ITHA vs. Arlington to Federal Court

A $775,000 purse account dispute between the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA) and Arlington International Racecourse, LLC, that has simmered for over half a year got escalated to federal court Wednesday.

The ITHA is alleging a purse account underpayment in 2021 from now-defunct Arlington and a breach of contract triggered by Arlington's refusal to hand over the money once it became known the property was scheduled to be sold and that no racing would occur there in 2022.

Asked for comment via email late Wednesday afternoon, Arlington president Tony Petrillo wrote, “I haven't heard of this matter.” TDN then provided Petrillo with a copy of the lawsuit and gave him an hour to digest it, but did not receive a further reply prior to deadline for this story.

However, Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI), the Kentucky gaming corporation that owns Arlington, had stated in a March 23, 2022, letter to the ITHA that an overpayment actually occurred last racing season, and that any additional purse-account revenues that did accrue via simulcasting after the race meet ended in September don't have to be delivered to the horsemen just yet.

A chunk of this dispute hinges on how the two long-time adversarial entities define the word “track” as it appears in the contract they inked for the 2020-21 race meets.

“The term 'TRACK' as used in the Agreement refers to the entity Arlington Park Racecourse, LLC, not the physical racetrack itself,”  wrote Joseph Quinn, CDI's corporate counsel. “Arlington is actively pursuing additional horse racing opportunities in the State of Illinois. Until Arlington knows that it will not hold a future succeeding Race Meeting, it is not required to deliver the amounts held in the purse account to the ITHA.”

Quinn's letter to the ITHA then included this stunner: CDI wants the horsemen to pay $150,000 toward the purse account, “as required under the agreement”-even though Arlington missed the deadline for applying for 2022 dates at any Illinois location more than eight months ago.

The ITHA, in its Apr. 20 civil complaint filed in United States District Court (Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division), disputed the points made by CDI in the Mar. 23 letter and framed the situation like this:

“The parties negotiated specific terms regarding any 'underpayment' of purses to address the possibility that Arlington would not be holding races at the Arlington Park racetrack in 2022….

“The contract provided that if Arlington underpaid purses in any amount during 2021, the underpayments would be 'carried forward and added to Purses for distribution at the next succeeding Race Meeting at TRACK.'”

“The contract further provided that 'if no such succeeding Race Meeting takes place, Arlington 'will deliver to ITHA the amount of the underpayment as soon as it is known that there will be no such Race Meeting…'”

Notwithstanding “multiple written requests” to deliver the money, the ITHA is alleging that Arlington and CDI are still refusing to pay.

“It has been known for many months that Arlington Park has sadly hosted its last horse race,” the complaint stated. “As has been widely reported and acknowledged, Arlington, LLC, and/or CDI has agreed to sell the Arlington Park property to the Chicago Bears.

“There will be no succeeding race meeting at Arlington Park in 2022. Indeed, there will be no such race meeting in 2022 at any venue operated by Arlington, LLC, in Illinois….

Arlington, LLC, has no plans to conduct a race meeting in Illinois at any time in the foreseeable future.”

With regard to CDI's “reminder” in the Quinn letter for the ITHA to pay the $150,000 to the purse account, the complaint stated that CDI has both the purpose of the payment and the financial calculations wrong.

According to the ITHA, the contract “provided that if certain conditions were met with respect to the purses”  the ITHA would “contribute $150,000 to purses for Illinois-restricted stakes races.”

CDI's Mar. 23 request instead asked for that money to be paid “to the purse account.”

“Arlington's own accounting of the purse account balance from 2021 (more than $775,000) already reflects a $150,000 reduction in the underpayment,” the complaint stated.

“In other words, if ITHA were to send Arlington, LLC, a check for $150,000 today, the result would be that the already-substantial underpayment of approximately $775,000 (money to which ITHA is legally entitled) would grow by $150,000 to approximately $925,000.

“By the time Arlington, LLC, requested that ITHA make a payment to the purse account, Arlington, LLC, was already in material breach of the parties' agreement,” the complaint stated.

With regard to CDI's assertion that it is searching for an alternate Illinois location at which to apply for a license to stage races, the ITHA's complaint stated this:

“While Arlington, LLC's, letter claims that it is 'actively pursuing additional horse racing opportunities in the State of Illinois,' Arlington, LLC, has never identified any such opportunities, even when pressed to do so by the Illinois Racing Board.”

The ITHA's suit seeks a declaration that Arlington has breached the contract, all allegedly outstanding purse amounts, plus damages in an amount to be established at trial.

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Cautious Optimism in Illinois Racing

Illinois racing has its problems. There's no more Arlington Park, there will be only 64 days of racing this year and the circuit will shut down in the middle of the summer. But with the 2022 season about to start Saturday at Hawthorne, officials at that track are predicting that navigating through this year will be challenging but not impossible.

“How are we going to do? I can tell you more Wednesday when we draw the first card,” said Racing Secretary Al Plever. “But I think were going to be OK.”

The Hawthorne spring meet consists of 34 days and runs through June 25. When Arlington was running, racing would shift there in the summer before returning to Hawthorne in the fall. That gave horsemen a seven-month racing season that consisted of 118 days last year. But Hawthorne won't be running a summer meet because it must also host two harness racing meets each year. That means that there will be no Thoroughbred racing in the Chicago area for the bulk of the summer, from June 26 until a 30-day fall meet begins Sept. 23.

The fear was that the gap in the summer would lead to an exodus out of Illinois, with horsemen choosing a circuit where there were more racing opportunities and they wouldn't have to pack their bags in the summer.

“At the end of June, we're all going to have to leave,” said trainer Mike Campbell, the former president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. “The problem we are all facing having to leave our homes. I will not live in my home here for more than four months a year. That's a problem. Everybody is in same boat.”

But Plever said only a handful of Illinois regulars have left and that stalwarts like Larry Rivelli, who will have 80 horses at Hawthorne, have remained loyal. Most have found a place to call home during the summer. The best fit appears to be Canterbury Park. The Minnesota track will have 65 days of live  racing, beginning May 18 and ending Sept. 17. In an effort to attract Chicago horsemen, Canterbury has put together a bonus package for Illinois-based horses. A thoroughbred starter that raced in Illinois in 2021 or 2022 but has not previously started at Canterbury will be eligible for a $1,000 bonus in their first start of the 2022 season.

“It will be a little different this year because people used to be able to stay here pretty much all year and now we have a couple of months where they are in limbo,” said Hawthorne Assistant General Manager John Walsh. “They can go to Canterbury, which is a great track that has turf racing When they're done there they can come back in the fall and I think we will also have some sort of bonus program for horses coming in from Canterbury. I haven't heard of too many people who are staying away.”

Campbell said he will spend the summer at Colonial Downs and knows of other trainers who will be doing to Indiana Grand, Prairie Meadows and the Ohio racetracks.

One of the reasons horsemen are committing to Hawthorne is that a sizable purse increase will be ushered in this year. At about $120,000 a day in 2021, Hawthorne had among the smallest purses in the sport. This year, the simulcasting money bet off-season in Illinois does not have to shared with Arlington and the horsemen have also secured a one-year subsidy from the state. Plever said purses will average about $190,000 a day this year with purses for maiden special weight races increasing from $22,000 to $40,000.

Walsh also believes a later start–Hawthorne typically opened about a month earlier–will help.

“We might get off to a bit of a slow start but I think that by May we will be 40 to 50 percent better off than we have been at some of the past spring meets,” Walsh said. “We're going to have more turf racing. Weather-wise, we're sure to have some decent days in May and June. When you're running in March and April there can be rain or even snow and you're hard pressed to even get on the turf course. I think we will do much, much better and the signal will look better with some green grass instead of everything being just gray.”

But there will be challenges. Thoroughbreds used to be able to train at Hawthorne when it was shut down in the winter, but, because of the harness meet, which didn't end until March 20, that wasn't possible. With the track not opening for training until Monday, five days before opening day, there will be a number of horses who aren't yet ready to go. Plever said that of Monday there were 400 horses on the grounds and he expected another 200 to 300 would arrive by Saturday. That may not seem like a lot, but Hawthorne, throughout April, will race just two days a week, on Saturdays and Sundays.

In the longer term, Hawthorne should be just fine. A casino is in the works and the added money should yield a generous hike in purses. There is also the hope that a new harness track will be built somewhere in Illinois, which would mean that Hawthorne could go back to running Thoroughbreds only.

“This meet, it is the start of something,” Walsh said. “Once the casino opens up that will really energize things. We have a time line now. In time, these purses here are going to go through the roof.”

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