Arlington Park | Horse Racing Free Tips

Arlington: Up To 300 Spectators To Be Permitted Starting Sept. 3

A plan submitted by Arlington International Racecourse to allow a limited number of spectators into the outdoor areas of the facility on race days, was approved by the Arlington Heights Department of Health and Human Services, the Cook County Department of Public Health, and the Illinois Department of Public Health earlier today. The plan will be in full operation on Thursday, September 3, just in time for Illinoisans to enjoy watching the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, September 5.

Arlington International Racecourse President, Tony Petrillo, is confident in the plan to utilize Arlington's outdoor facility. “Wearing masks and social distancing behaviors that have been adopted by the public, along with additional measures incorporated into our plan for spectators, allows us to have a safe environment for everyone in our outdoor grandstand facility. We are confident that we will operate our grandstand facility as safely as we have operated in our backstretch and Trackside facilities over the past few months. We are thankful for the cooperation and assistance of local and State officials who helped develop and approve our plan.”

Limited spectators (300 or less) are permitted to enjoy live racing Thursdays-Saturdays September 3 through September 26 in outdoor seating options. Some changes in a visit to the track include that all tickets must be pre-purchased online at least 24 hours in advance and are limited to adults 18 and older, children seventeen and under will not be permitted access to the facility. All guests must wear a mask at all times unless they are consuming food or beverage in their seat.

Staggered entry and arrival times will be issued to each set of ticket holders to limit queuing lines and to assist patrons in maintaining social distancing as they enter the facility. No coolers or outdoor food and beverage will be allowed. The full set of health and safety guidelines and facility restrictions can be viewed on Arlington's website at arlingtonpark.com/tickets/policies-restrictions/.

Tickets are scheduled to go on-sale Tuesday, September 1 at 12 pm and are sold in sets of four at a designated table. All inquiries in regards to purchasing tickets, seating options, and pricing will only be available on Arlington's website – arlingtonpark.com/tickets.

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Plans in the Pipeline For Owners And Spectators to Return to Arlington

Arlington International Racecourse is awaiting decisions from local and state health officials that would pave the way for spectators to once again be allowed at the races under socially distanced pandemic precautions.

The plan calls for a phased-in approach that would start with horse owners being allowed back to the track, then ramping up attendance to allow 2,000 people into the plant for live racing on the day of the GI Kentucky Derby simulcast.

The Daily Herald of suburban Chicago first broke the story Friday. Arlington has proposed hosting 500 to 800 spectators (ages 18 and up) on other race days through the end of the meet. Advance online registration would be required for designated seating areas along the homestretch. Access to the grandstand would only be permitted to bet and to use rest rooms.

Arlington president Tony Petrillo told the Daily Herald that the track initially was directed to submit spectator plans to the Illinois Department of Agriculture but that management has since been told to pursue approvals through the Village of Arlington Heights, where the track is located. The village, in turn, is working with the county and state.

“It’s nice the way our facility is laid out. People are sitting in pods, basically,” Petrillo told the Daily Herald. “I think [by] the beginning of next week we’ll have some clarity.”

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‘Long-Term, That Land Gets Sold’: Churchill CEO Casts Dark Future Over Arlington Park

Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen made headlines in Illinois on Thursday after comments about the CDI-owned Arlington Park during a quarterly earnings call with investors, reports the Chicago Daily Herald.

“The long-term solution is not Arlington Park. That land will have a higher and better purpose for something else at some point,” Carstanjen said. “But we want to work constructively with all of the constituencies in the market to see if there's an opportunity to move the license or otherwise change the circumstances so that racing can continue in Illinois. For us, we've been patient and thoughtful and constructive with the parties up in that jurisdiction, but long-term that land gets sold and that license will need to move if it's going to continue.”

Churchill declined the chance to pursue casino games at Arlington last year, despite having the opportunity to apply for a slots license at the Chicagoland track last year. Initially CDI had planned to conduct sports betting at Arlington, but now those operations in Illinois will be restricted to Rivers Casino.

The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association released the following statement in response to Carstanjen's comments: “For Churchill's CEO to say preposterously that Churchill has been 'patient' with other stakeholders speaks to the height of Churchill's contempt for the elected officials and working families of Illinois. The very least that Churchill could do is be honest about its true intention: the company cares only about maximizing profit and is happy to sacrifice the spirit of Illinois law and the livelihood of working Illinoisans to serve its greed.”

Delayed first by the coronavirus pandemic and then by a contract dispute with the ITHA, Arlington began a 30-day meet without fans on July 23.

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CDI Seeks to Sell Arlington Land

The long-term future for Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) to continue racing in Illinois involves selling its Arlington International Racecourse land for another purpose and transferring the corporation’s racing license to another location.

Bill Carstanjen, the chief executive officer of CDI, outlined the gaming company’s desire to rid itself of Chicago’s premier Thoroughbred venue in a July 30 conference call with investors. His comments came six days after Arlington’s delayed 2020 season opening (because of the pandemic and a bitter contract dispute with local horse people) and one day before 2021 dates applications were due to be filed with the Illinois Racing Board.

Carstanjen was responding to a question from an investment analyst who asked about the gaming corporation’s “broad Illinois strategy” with respect to Arlington.

“We reached an agreement with the horsemen [and] we’re running the race meet right now,” Carstanjen said, according to an edited transcript of the call posted on Yahoo! Finance. “We’ll run a 2020 race meeting. We have an agreement to run a 2021 race meet if we elect to do so. That’s not a long-term viable solution for the Arlington Park license.”

Carstanjen continued: “Long-term for Arlington Park, as we’ve explained on these calls, and [as] we’ve explained to the state, it doesn’t work. The economics don’t work. It’s not a viable solution. We’d like to give the state, given everything that’s going on, an opportunity to help us find a better long-term solution. But the long-term solution is not Arlington Park. That land will have a higher and better purpose for something else at some point.

“But we want to work constructively with all of the constituencies in the market to see if there’s an opportunity to move the license or otherwise change the circumstances so that racing can continue in Illinois. But for us, we’ve been patient and thoughtful and constructive with the parties up in that jurisdiction.

“But long term, that land gets sold, and that license will need to move if it’s going to continue,” Carstanjen said. “And the time frame for doing that is not something I’m going to comment on this call today, and it’s not definitive. But certainly, certainly, it’s something that’s on our mind on a week-to-week basis, if not a day-to-day basis.”

The relationship between Arlington and the horse people who race on the Illinois circuit has been contentious for several years now. The split widened considerably last August when Arlington management stunned Illinois stakeholders by intentionally missing a deadline to apply for a racino license after more than a decade of working with the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (ITHA) to get the Illinois Gaming Act passed as a way to boost purses via other forms of betting.

Arlington’s decision not to pursue slot machines and table games at the track took on heightened controversy because Arlington’s corporate parent, Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), has an ownership stake in a nearby competing casino and is aiming to open another near Chicago.

Horsemen have stated a belief that CDI doesn’t want Arlington competing with its own (and potentially more lucrative) venues. Last summer, CDI cited the racino law’s requirement of having to contribute gaming revenues to the Thoroughbred purse account as a competitive disadvantage it did not want to undertake.

The Daily Herald of suburban Chicago obtained a statement on Thursday from the ITHA that stated “For Churchill’s CEO to say preposterously that Churchill has been ‘patient’ with other stakeholders speaks to the height of Churchill’s contempt for the elected officials and working families of Illinois. The very least that Churchill could do is be honest about its true intention: the company cares only about maximizing profit and is happy to sacrifice the spirit of Illinois law and the livelihood of working Illinoisans to serve its greed.”

Carstanjen also disclosed on the call that despite applying for a sports betting license in March, Arlington no longer plans on pursuing it.

“Currently, we’re not planning on doing sports wagering there through the Arlington license. We’re happy to play heavily in Illinois and sports wagering through our Rivers [Casino] license.” That venue is about 10 miles from Arlington and CDI owns a 61% stake in it.

The Daily Herald quoted a rebuke from Tom Hayes, the mayor of Arlington Heights, where the track is located.

“It’s very disappointing to hear,” Hayes said. “Certainly, I’ve never felt Churchill Downs was all that concerned about Arlington Heights and our community at all. I think they’re concerned about the bottom line.”

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