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Churchill Downs Announces It Will Sell Arlington Park

Churchill Downs announced Tuesday that it has launched a process to sell Arlington Park, which sits on 326 acres of real estate 30 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. The sale will be handled by CBRE Group, a full service commercial real estate firm.

Arlington's future looked bleak in September of 2019 when Churchill Downs made the surprising decision to not take the necessary steps to open a casino on the racetrack property. It is widely believed that Churchill did not want to create competition between an Arlington casino and a casino it owns near the track. Churchill owns the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Illinois, which is about seven miles from the Arlington.

After confirming that it did not seek a casino license for the track, Churchill said it would only commit to racing at Arlington through 2021. In Tuesday's press release, Churchill said that it would honor the commitment to hold a meet that is scheduled to begin Apr. 30 and end Sept. 25.

“On the one hand, when you hear that Churchill is going to sell Arlington Park ,your heart immediately goes into your mouth because we are planning on racing there in two months,” said David McCaffrey, the executive director of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. “We are a bit relieved that at least they are committed in writing to racing this summer That's the short-term gain part but we're deeply saddened that it looks like our worst fears will come true, that Arlington Park's last ever race will be held in September.”

In Tuesday's press release, Bill Carstanjen, the CEO of Churchill Downs Incorporated, said the company will pursue opening a racetrack/casino at a new location somewhere in the state. Once Arlington closes, Hawthorne will be the only track in the Chicago area, and Hawthorne and Fairmount Park will be the only tracks left in the state. Arlington opened in 1927.

In the release, Carstanjen touted Arlington as an attractive property for development.

“Arlington's ideal location in Chicago's northwest suburbs, together with direct access to downtown Chicago via an on-site Metro rail station, presents a unique redevelopment opportunity,” he said. “We expect to see robust interest in the site and look forward to working with potential buyers, in collaboration with the Village of Arlington Heights, to transition this storied location to its next phase,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI.

As for the potential of opening a new racetrack in the state, Carstanjen said: “We are exploring potential options with the State and other constituents and remain optimistic that we can find solutions that work for the State, local communities and the thousands of Illinoisans who make their living directly or indirectly from Thoroughbred horse racing. We are committed to the Illinois Thoroughbred racing industry and will consider all options in working toward opportunities for it to continue into the future.”

McCaffrey said there would be several obstacles standing in the way if Churchill tried to open a new track in the state.

“Moving the racing license would require an awful lot of regulatory steps and probably changes to the state statutes,” he said. “It would be much easier said than done. To us, this is not a good solution. The good solution for us was to make Arlington Park the biggest and best racino in the country, bar none. Because of its location, its history, because there is a train station right at the track, it was the perfect spot for a casino. None of those things will exist in a place built somewhere else and I can promise you it would not have the grandeur of Arlington Park.”

Finding a location in a saturated market where a casino and racetrack would thrive will not be easy. There are already 10 casinos in Illinois, which does not include the casinos that have yet to open at Hawthorne and Fairmount.

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Churchill Downs To Sell Arlington Park, Pursue Relocation Of Racing License

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Tuesday that it has launched a process to sell the 326 acres in Arlington Heights, Ill. that are currently the home of Arlington International Racecourse. CBRE will bring the redevelopment opportunity to market on behalf of CDI.

CDI is committed to running Arlington's 2021 race dates from April 30 – Sept. 25, and does not expect any sale of the Arlington site to close prior to the conclusion of Arlington's 2021 race meet or that the conduct of the sale process will impact Arlington's racing operations this year.

“Arlington's ideal location in Chicago's northwest suburbs, together with direct access to downtown Chicago via an on-site Metra rail station, presents a unique redevelopment opportunity. We expect to see robust interest in the site and look forward to working with potential buyers, in collaboration with the Village of Arlington Heights, to transition this storied location to its next phase,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI.

“In the meantime, we are very committed to pursuing the relocation of Arlington's racing license to another community in the Chicagoland area or elsewhere in the state. We are exploring potential options with the State and other constituents and remain optimistic that we can find solutions that work for the State, local communities and the thousands of Illinoisans who make their living directly or indirectly from thoroughbred horse racing. We are committed to the Illinois thoroughbred racing industry and will consider all options in working toward opportunities for it to continue into the future.”

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Request to Escrow $4.9M in ‘Recaptured’ Arlington Purses Again Shot Down By State

For the second time in four months, the Illinois Racing Board (IRB) Jan. 21 declined a request by the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA) to put $4.9 million of “recaptured” purse funds in escrow so that money can only be collected by Arlington Park if the track runs its entire slate of 68 dates in 2021.

During Thursday's IRB meeting, the ITHA restated the same argument it articulated back on Sept. 16, when the 2021 dates were initially granted: that the Illinois racing community doesn't have faith that Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), the gaming corporation that owns Arlington, will follow through on running a race meet in its entirety, so ITHA wants the statutorily legal recapture funds conditionally withheld by the IRB as a cudgel of compliance.

The litany of distrust between the ITHA and Arlington is based on three recent incidents: 1) A stunning 2019 decision by CDI to intentionally miss a deadline to apply for racino licensure at Arlington after working for more than a decade with the ITHA to get a gaming law passed; 2) An acrimonious eight-month battle over race-meet contracts for 2020 and 2021 that included numerous blown deadlines and required IRB mediation; and 3) Comments made last July 30 by Bill Carstanjen, CDI's chief executive officer, that CDI will honor its 2021 race meet contract with the ITHA “if we elect to do so” and that the Arlington property “will have a higher and better purpose for something else at some point.”

Recapture has been a controversial entity unique to Illinois racing for 25 years. It's based on a 1995 law that states that if in any given year, total Illinois handle falls below 75% of the state's 1994 benchmark, any track whose handle also falls below its own 1994 individual benchmark is entitled to deduct 2% of the difference from its horsemen's purse account.

To give a long-view example of how much money that law has cost Illinois purse accounts since its implementation, David McCaffrey, the ITHA's executive director, testified Thursday that Thoroughbred and harness tracks statewide over the decades have reaped $298 million in recaptured funds, with Arlington alone raking back $98 million in money that had been earned for purses.

ITHA President Michael Campbell added that recapture “is harmful. It is what has caused the almost total erosion of the industry in Illinois.”

But although they have a problem with the recapture law itself, McCaffrey and Campbell both admitted that Arlington is not doing anything illegal in taking the recapture money according to the Illinois statute.

“It's their legislative right,” Campbell said. “But at the same time, it doesn't mean that it's a good law.”

Campbell noted that Hawthorne Race Course, the other stop on the two-track Chicago circuit, is deferring any collection of its recapture funds until more money is generated for purses when the Hawthorne racino gets up and operational.

Yet Arlington president Tony Petrillo testified that his track already does work with the ITHA to the extent that, “Arlington, prior to this year, has voluntarily capped or put a ceiling on recapture of $4.5 million.”

Petrillo added: “Regarding the [escrow] payment schedule that the ITHA is seeking, first I would say Arlington should not be treated differently than any other racetrack in those terms…. We cannot control the results of the pandemic…. We have accepted 68 days of racing [and] fully intend to run those 68 days of racing…. I don't think [escrowing the recapture funds] would be in the best interest of racing and to set that type of precedent.”

Back in September, when the ITHA first asked the IRB to hold back 2021 recapture funds until Arlington's 68-date season was completed, the IRB's attorney said that statutory provisions didn't allow the attachment of such a stipulation to dates orders. Based on that advice, board members at that time voted 6-0 to grant Arlington's schedule with no escrow strings attached.

But it was noted at that same meeting that the ITHA could bring up the subject again in January, when the IRB had to vote upon setting the 2021 recapture payment schedule.

Yet on Thursday, after hearing from both the ITHA and Arlington for 25 minutes on the topic, no IRB members stepped forward to attach the ITHA's escrow request to the motion listed on the agenda to certify the recapture amounts.

In fact, the IRB didn't even discuss the issue prior to voting 6-0 to release the recapture payments as requested by the tracks.

For Illinois' three Thoroughbred tracks, the approved recapture amounts this year will be: Arlington ($4,948,020), Hawthorne ($2,879,530) and Fairmount Park ($1,934,464).

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Lost And Found Presented By LubriSynHA: In New Role Of Agent, Douglas Keeps A Positive Outlook

Optimism and dedication served Rene Douglas well during his career as a jockey, in which he rode more than 3,500 winners. Now he is capitalizing on that same mindset since turning his attention to being a jockey agent last year.

“It is kind of like what I used to do when I was riding races,” he said. “I was always hustling and trying to get named on the horses I wanted to ride. It is very similar except that now, I don't ride them.”

The recipient of Douglas's effort is Angel Arroyo, who ranked seventh in the win and earnings categories at the Gulfstream Park West meeting despite missing the final days because of a minor injury. He returned to action on Dec. 13, a week after the start of Gulfstream Park's premiere winter season that attracts some of the nation's top jockeys.

“He lost the momentum he had going into the big meet and lost some of the business he had,” Douglas said. “We had to start over, little by little. Things will pick up again because he is a good rider.”

Douglas is up early each morning to begin his work at home and spends much of his time contacting trainers for future mounts, a task that requires in-depth knowledge of upcoming races that suit specific horses. He gathers such information on a daily basis by watching racing on television and studying results.

“I like to watch every race,” he said. “I can pick up things that make me think I can get Angel to ride those horses.”

Rene Douglas enjoys the ceremony following Coltimus Prime's victory in the 2017 Clasico Presidente de la Republica

On entry days, he joins fellow agents and racing office staff on Zoom for post-position draws and finalizing mount assignments.

When not engaged in those tasks, Douglas is content to be in the comfy confines of home with his wife Natalia, their sons Christian and Giancarlo, who are in their early 20s, and Douglas's older son Michael.

Douglas's current vocation follows a previous endeavor of forming racing partnerships with dear colleagues. Under their Good Friends Stable banner, the group enjoyed particular success with Grade 1 winner Private Zone and Prince of Wales Stakes winner Golden Moka. Douglas specialized in importing and exporting runners between his native Panama and North America such as Panamanian G1 winner Coltimus Prime and the aforementioned Private Zone. While he said he is always on the lookout for potential horses, he prefers to stay focused on improving Arroyo's resume.

The need to reinvent himself came after an abrupt end to his two decades as a jockey in 2009 when his mount fell on him during a race at Arlington Park. The accident left Douglas without the use of his legs.

“Things happen in life that you never expect, but life continues; what are you going to do?” he said. “I just have to do the best I can as a person and a husband and move forward.”

He credits his “amazing” wife and his loyal friends for their support in helping him overcome severe depression while adjusting to a new way of living. Their dedication and commitment mean more to Douglas than his accomplishments in the saddle, including topping leader boards at Arlington Park and other tracks and winning such high-profile races as the 2006 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on Dreaming of Anna.

When asked about his favorite memories from his prime, Douglas takes a long pause before casually mentioning that he won the 1996 Belmont Stakes on Editor's Note for D. Wayne Lukas.

“When I first moved to Chicago, there was something about that place that made me a happy person—the people and the racing,” he said. “Arlington was a special racetrack for me.”

Those experiences were so special that Douglas and Natalia continue to spend summers there while living in South Florida the rest of the year.

Despite major and minor setbacks, Douglas looks on the bright side while facing the challenges.

“I have always been very positive in life,” he said. “That is why I think I won a lot of races. I encourage others to do the same thing.”

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