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Red-Hot Charlie Appleby Talks Arc, Breeders’ Cup On Writers’ Room

It takes a lot for a European trainer to become the biggest story in North American racing, but that's exactly what Charlie Appleby has accomplished, among many other things, this year. Capturing three of the four Grade I races at Woodbine plus the Jockey Club Derby at Belmont last weekend to follow up several other successful raids of top-level events in the U.S. this summer, Appleby has quite simply taken the racing world by storm at just 46 years old. Wednesday, during a short break from shopping the Goffs Orby Sale in Ireland, Appleby joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to talk about his whirlwind year, his contenders for the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Breeders' Cup and all the history he is still trying to make.

Asked about this weekend's Arc, where he has two of the top contenders in standout 3-year-olds Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Appleby, calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week said, “Adayar won the [Epsom] Derby and went on to win the King George, the first horse since Galileo to do so. We met with a minor setback in preparation for a trial [for the Arc], which was always annoying, you don't want to have a setback at any stage, but I told myself during that point, no horse has actually won the Arc trial and gone on to win an Arc, so I took it as a positive that someone was telling me not to go. Subsequently since then, he's not missed a beat and he couldn't afford to miss a beat either. So he looks great, and he's the best horse in the race. Hurricane Lane is a rock-solid horse, he's won an Irish Derby, a Grand Prix de Paris and a St. Leger. No horse has won a St. Leger and gone on to win an Arc. So along with the excitement of running in the 100th Arc, there's the potential to create history with Hurricane Lane. We don't look back on history, we try to make history. So we'll have a crack at it.”

Appleby also discussed his upbringing in racing and the wealth of experience he accrued that has allowed for his unprecedented success in recent years, saying, “I was brought up in the west country of England. You become more hands-on down there in dealing with the horses. From there, I moved up the country and went to my first stable in Newmarket with [11-time British champion jockey] Lester Piggott. In terms of racing knowledge, I don't think I could have been in better hands. I spent a lot of time watching racing with Lester and the great [trainer] Barney Curley. I learned how to read a race out there and understand the styles of racing and the pace of a race. Then I went on to David Loder's yard, which was a force to be reckoned with in the '90s and 2000s, where I learned a lot about 2-year-olds, how far to push them and what we needed to achieve to get them to Group 1 status. Then I joined Godolphin at the age of 19 or 20 and from then on have been very lucky. I've had a management position throughout my whole career in Godolphin. It allowed me to travel worldwide and go overseas. I spent a lot of time at Arlington and Belmont. It allows you to meet people out there who I never normally would have met in the racing world. You see these entrepreneurs and they influence you, you get a buzz, and you learn how they strive for success. It gets instilled in you in a way. So 'can't' isn't in our vocabulary. We strive to achieve, and if it doesn't happen, we take the positives out of it and move on. The negatives are brushed aside.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Spendthrift Farm, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers reacted to the news of Arlington Park's official sale to the Chicago Bears, lamented the case of a horse who shouldn't have been allowed to race at Belterra Park and looked forward to a massive weekend of racing on both sides of the Atlantic. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The post Red-Hot Charlie Appleby Talks Arc, Breeders’ Cup On Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Bears Sign Purchase Agreement for Arlington

The gaming corporation that owns Arlington International Racecourse in suburban Chicago announced the signing of a $197.2-million purchase and sales agreement Wednesday that would sell the 326-acre crown jewel of Illinois racing to the Chicago Bears football team for the planned construction of a new stadium and mixed-use development.

According to a Sept. 29 Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm anticipates a late 2022 or early 2023 closing of the deal.

The announcement came four days after Arlington staged what were possibly the final horse races ever at the opulent Illinois oval. The deal announcement also appears timed to coincide with the closure of the third business quarter of the year, which ends Sept. 30.

If the deal ends up closing as planned, the demise of Arlington–which has raced Thoroughbreds since 1927 and was reborn in grand fashion after a 1985 fire–will mark the third prominent Thoroughbred track owned by CDI that the corporation has put out of business in the past decade.

At the start of the 21st Century, Hollywood Park, Calder Race Course and Arlington were on nearly everybody's Top 10 list of United States racetracks. CDI has now either sold off (or is in the process of selling off) all three of them, substantially weakening those tracks' respective circuits in California, Florida and Illinois.

Even though Wednesday's announcement was hardly unexpected–CDI officials said as early as 2020 that the firm planned to get rid of Arlington, and in February 2021 bidding was officially opened–there was still longshot speculation in the wake of that news that racing could still be preserved for a short period of time before the wrecking crews move in.

For starters, there is talk that the Bears are only entering into the purchase agreement to try and negotiate a better lease with the City of Chicago on the team's current downtown home of Soldier Field, which runs until 2033.

According to the Chicago Tribune, representatives of the Bears had cancelled a planned meeting Tuesday with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration, and they haven't told city representatives what it would take to keep the team at Soldier Field, where the Bears have played since moving from Wrigley Field in 1971.

“Look, we have attempted to understand what their interests are for months and they have not shared them,” Lightfoot said in the Tribune article. “I can't negotiate a deal by myself.”

The Daily Herald of suburban Chicago also reported Wednesday that the football team's owners might not have deep enough pockets to actually follow through with the privately funded building of a stadium, which has an estimated $5-billion price tag. The appetite for the public funding of sports stadiums has been drying up in recent years all across the U.S., so it might be difficult for the Bears to get a civic or state partner to pay for some or all of the project.

But even if a stadium does get funded and built, the timeline for a full build-out is at least five years away, meaning Arlington still could host races under new ownership or management, similar to what happened at Hollywood Park before that property, too, got turned into a football stadium.

According to the one-paragraph release issued Wednesday by CDI, “The closing of the sale of the Property is subject to the satisfaction of various closing conditions.” It also noted that, “CDI is planning to use the proceeds of the sale to purchase or invest in replacement property that qualifies as an Internal Revenue Code §1031 transaction.”

That means that the corporation will attempt to defer federal taxes on the deal by reinvesting the proceeds of the sale in one or more other properties.

The relationship between Arlington and the horse people who race in Illinois has been contentious for years now. The split widened considerably in August 2019 when CDI 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 to get the Illinois Gaming Act passed as a way to boost purses via other forms of betting.

CDI's decision not to pursue slot machines and table games at the track took on heightened controversy because the gaming corporation has an ownership stake in a nearby competing casino and is aiming to open another near Chicago.

Although CDI has stated that it received multiple bids on the 326-acre Arlington property, only one of those publicly disclosed bidding parties had plans to keep racing alive at Arlington.

That bid had been submitted by the track's former president, Roy Arnold, in partnership with developers and investors. It called for the track to remain in place, while a mid-size arena for a minor-league hockey team was constructed as part of a 60-acre entertainment district alongside a 300-unit housing development and 60 acres of industrial space.

The Bears and CDI released the following statements, which read, in part:

“We are excited to have executed a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) for the Arlington Park property,” Bears president Ted Phillips said. “Finalizing the PSA was the critical next step in continuing our exploration of the property and its potential. Much work remains to be completed, including working closely with the Village of Arlington Heights and surrounding communities, before we can close on this transaction.

CDI's chief executive Bill Carstanjen said, “This has been an extraordinarily competitive bid process. Congratulations to the Chicago Bears for their professionalism and perseverance. It is clear they are committed to an exciting vision for their team and their fans.”

CDI never submitted at least a placeholder bid for racing to continue at Arlington in 2022. On Sept. 22, the Illinois Racing Board awarded 76 Chicago-area Thoroughbred race dates for next year to Hawthorne Race Course, which must now function as a year-round dual-breed venue, splitting seasons to accommodate 75 dates of harness racing.

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Chicago Bears Sign Agreement To Buy Arlington Park For New Stadium

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced on Wednesday that it has signed a purchase and sale agreement with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League to sell Arlington Park racecourse, a 326-acre property in Arlington Heights, Ill., for $197.2 million.

The closing of the sale of the property is subject to the satisfaction of various closing conditions. CDI anticipates closing the sale of the property in late 2022/early 2023. CDI said it is planning to use the proceeds of the sale to “purchase or invest in replacement property that qualifies as an Internal Revenue Code §1031 transaction.”

The purchase agreement was first reported Tuesday night by theathletic.com.

“We are excited to have executed a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) for the Arlington Park property,” said Bears President and CEO Ted Phillips. “We are grateful to Churchill Downs Incorporated for their efforts to reach this point. We also appreciate the support of Mayor Tom Hayes and the Village of Arlington Heights. Finalizing the PSA was the critical next step in continuing our exploration of the property and its potential. Much work remains to be completed, including working closely with the Village of Arlington Heights and surrounding communities, before we can close on this transaction. Our goal is to chart a path forward that allows our team to thrive on the field, Chicagoland to prosper from this endeavor, and the Bears organization to be ensured a strong future. We will never stop working toward delivering Bears fans the very best experience. We will continue to provide updates on our progress at the appropriate time.”

“This has been an extraordinarily competitive bid process,” said Churchill Downs Incorporated CEO Bill Carstanjen. “Congratulations to the Chicago Bears for their professionalism and perseverance. It is clear they are committed to an exciting vision for their team and their fans. We wish them the greatest success and are excited for the opportunity this brings to the Village of Arlington Heights and the future economic development of this unique property.”

“I could not be more excited about the news that the Chicago Bears have signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement to buy the Arlington Park property in our community,” said Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes. “My goal for any redevelopment has always been to put this prime piece of real estate to its highest and best use, and I can't think of a higher and better use than this one. There is a long way to go as we begin this journey, and many issues for the community to discuss, but the Village is committed to working with the Bears organization and all stakeholders to explore this opportunity for Arlington Heights and the northwest suburban region.”

The Bears, owned by the McCaskey family, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $1.3 billion, will likely seek public funding for a new stadium. The NFL's newest stadiums, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., cost $1.9 billion and $5.5 billion respectively. Illinois taxpayers are still paying for renovations to Chicago's Soldier Field, where the Bears have played since 1971 and have a lease with the Chicago Park District through 2033.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a Tweet on Tuesday night she is committed to working with the Bears to keep the team at Soldier Field.

My statement still stands on the Bears: my admin remains committed to continuing the work to keep the team in Chicago.

As I have said numerous times, our door in City Hall remains open. https://t.co/7pm7mLtCOc

— Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) September 29, 2021

The agreement to sell the property is a devastating blow to the Illinois horse racing industry, where Arlington Park has been the flagship track for nearly a century. After working with horsemen in the state capitol in Springfield for years to seek casinos at racetracks, Churchill Downs Inc. officials stunned horsemen by saying it would not seek a casino license at Arlington after lawmakers in 2019 approved legislation that would have permitted casinos at all state tracks.

With Arlington not seeking 2022 racing dates during a bidding process that included at least one group determined to keep racing alive at the track, all racing – both Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds – in the Chicago area will shift to Hawthorne, which is constructing an on-site casino. Racing dates for 2022 at Hawthorne were announced last week.

The post Chicago Bears Sign Agreement To Buy Arlington Park For New Stadium appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Chicago Mayor Bears Down On Keeping NFL Team From Moving To Arlington Park

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she is willing to work with Chicago Bears management to seek improvements to Soldier Field, home to the NFL team since 1971, in order to avert a move to a new stadium at Arlington Park racetrack in the city's northwest suburbs.

The Bears are among several entities bidding to purchase Arlington Park from publicly traded Churchill Downs Inc., which is majority owner of the Rivers Casino about 11 miles away. One of the other bidders, a group led by former Arlington Park president Roy Arnold, hopes to keep racing alive at Arlington while developing some of the property. No other bidders have expressed an interest in continuing racing at the historic track.

The 2021 Arlington Park meet closes this Saturday, Sept. 25. The track did not seek racing dates in 2022.

When the Bears confirmed in June they made an offer to buy Arlington to pursue a new stadium, Lightfoot downplayed the possibility of the Bears leaving Soldier Field, where they have a lease that runs through 2033. The 62,000-seat lakefront stadium, the smallest in the NFL, is owned by the Chicago Park District. It was renovated nearly 20 years ago at a cost of over $600 million to the city but is no match for some of the NFL's new stadiums, including So-Fi – home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers – built at a cost of $5.5 billion on the old Hollywood Park racetrack property in Inglewood, Calif.

When the Bears said they were looking to move to Arlington Park, Lightfoot chided them to focus more on “putting a winning team on the field, beating the Packers finally and being relevant past October. Everything else is noise.”

In comments to the editorial board of the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday, Lightfoot said she is willing to work with the team on expansion and improvements to Soldier Field in a “fiscally-prudent way.”

Lightfoot wants the stadium to generate year-round revenue for Chicago outside of Bears games and would like to improve the experience for fans.

“I am a Bears fan. I want the Bears to stay in the city of Chicago,” she said. “”And we are willing to work with them to try to address their concerns. … We are evaluating ways in which we can enhance the fan experience at Soldier Field. … I know that it can be better.”