Illinois Racing Board Nixes Arlington’s OTB Licenses But Approves TwinSpires ADW

You win some, you lose some.

That's how it went for Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) and its dormant track, Arlington Park, during Thursday's regularly scheduled meeting of the Illinois Racing Board when the 10 commissioners deadlocked on a motion to permit Arlington to continue to operate off-track betting faclities, effectively killing the measure. CDI won a second vote by a 9-1 margin permitting TwinSpires, the company's advance deposit wagering platform, to maintain its license and operate in the state in 2022.

The meeting was contentious at times, with Arlington's Tony Petrillo and Hawthorne's Tim Carey shouting over each other during discussions about ADW revenue.

Commissioner Alan Henry, a fierce critic of CDI over its decision to not race at Arlington in 2022 and sell the track property to the NFL's Chicago Bears to build a football stadium, referred to the closing as a “flagrant obscenity,” saying that, “It's now time for this board and this state to move on from Churchill Downs.”

This came after Chris Block, newly elected president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said the move to close Arlington has put the state's Thoroughbred industry “on the brink of collapse.”

But the board apparently has a number of CDI loyalists who felt it was in the best interest of racing to permit Arlington Park to maintain its OTB network despite not operating a live race meetingin 2022  – in what the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association said was contrary to law.

Petrillo told the IRB that CDI remained committed to live racing in Illinois, saying the company was continuing to search for a property to build a new track to replace Arlington. When pressed by the board, he couldn't offer any specifics. Two senior CDI officials, Bill Mudd and Brad Blackwell, joined the call, but they offered no specifics, either, saying they hoped to find a place to build a track and then get a casino license.

To several commissioners, that made no sense, inasmuch as CDI turned down an opportunity to add casino gambling to Arlington after enabling legislation was passed in 2019. Horsemen and CDI worked hand in hand for many years to get the legislation approved.

When it came time to vote on Arlington's OTBs, five commissioners were in favor and five against; thus, the motion did not pass. The yes votes came from Leslie Breuer, Marcus Davis, Lydia Gray, Charles MacKelvie and Leslye Sandberg. Voting against the Arlington OTB licenses were board chairman Daniel Beiser, Beth Doria, Alan Henry, Benjamin Reyes and John Stephan.

Hawthorne is expected to pick up the slack from the Arlington OTBs that will not reopen, although under current law it is one OTB short of the maximum it can operate. Hawthorne is expected to seek legislative help that will permit them to expand their network.

For an advance deposit wagering company to be licensed in Illinois, it must have a contract with a state racetrack and the consent of the representative horsemen's group.

TwinSpires had previously reached an agreement with Fanduel Sportsbook and Horse Racing, the downstate track formerly known as Fairmount Park. The Illinois Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association that represents horsemen at Fanduel/Fairmount withheld consent until just before Thursday's meeting. The board could have approved the license without consent, if the commissioners felt the horsemen were being unreasonable, but the agreement made that a moot point after the Illinois HBPA gave their consent.

However, there was one last chance for the IRB to block TwinSpires' operations in Illinois by denying the company an ADW license. After much debate, that license was approved by a 9-1 vote. Henry was the lone dissenter.

As commissioner Henry explained, the approval will hurt horsemen at Hawthorne because the bulk of purse revenue will remain at Fanduel/Fairmount although 75% of the ADW customers live in the Chicago area.

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CDI Grilled by IRB About Arlington’s Control of ITWs

Exactly 50 days after executing a purchase-and-sale agreement that will see Arlington International Racecourse demolished to become the future site of a football stadium, the gaming corporation Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) came before the Illinois Racing Board (IRB) Thursday to request 2022 licensure to retain control over simulcasting at its inter-track wagering (ITW) locations even though it won't be hosting any live racing next year.

The IRB heard contentious pro-and-con testimony on the Arlington-related agenda items, but in the end essentially punted on the matter by voting 10-0 to “lay over” the decision-making process until its December meeting.
Four issues stood out during the extended debate Nov. 18:

Firstly, Arlington president Tony Petrillo is intent on spinning the ITW licensure as a “demonstration of the [corporation's] continued commitment to be involved in horse racing in the state” that will preserve jobs.

Secondly, Hawthorne Race Course president and general manager Tim Carey said that Hawthorne Race Course is “absolutely” interested in taking over the operation of the most lucrative of the simulcasting parlors should Arlington not be granted a license to run them. And IRB commissioners appeared in agreement that those locations will end up generating roughly the same amount of revenue if Hawthorne operates them instead of Arlington.

Thirdly, the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA) is against Arlington retaining control of the parlors, citing the fact that since Arlington doesn't hold a license as a track, it can't then be granted ITW privileges.

Finally–and perhaps most surprisingly–the IRB itself repeatedly questioned the motives of CDI after commissioners had remained largely mute on the devastating topic of the Arlington sale for the better part of the last year.

“I just have a concern, as a board member, in how we've been treated by Churchill Downs,” said IRB commissioner Marcus Davis, noting that CDI could have opted to work out a plan to sell its land while preserving racing at Arlington in the short term, thus allowing for a smoother transition to year-round, dual-breed racing at Hawthorne.

“I don't get the sense that I can trust what Churchill has to say when they do the things that they do [like closing Hollywood Park and Calder Race Course],” Davis said.

IRB commissioner Alan Henry went a step further, advocating against granting ITW licensure to CDI.

“I don't think it's in the best interest of the public or horse racing to have [CDI] operate these parlors,” Henry said. “This is the same company that shut down the most beautiful track in the country…and it was just thrown in the ash heap for an alleged higher purpose that doesn't make any sense to me. I don't know that we should be rewarding the company with parlors when they don't have a track to run at.”
Henry said that in recent years, CDI has “torched” IRB directives aimed at fostering and promoting the sport.

“What I see in these [ITW] requests seems an awful lot like the farmer who sells his prized Holstein, then expects to still get paid for some of the milk it produces,” Henry said.

Henry noted that Arlington closed two of its parlors in 2020, and is set to “offload” four of its least-profitable remaining ones over the next few weeks.

Petrillo kept reiterating that CDI still wants to be involved in racing in Illinois, although he was vague on specifics.

“Our commitment to racing in the state and the product is indicative of our pursuit of these licenses,” Petrillo said. “At this time, we don't have any locations that we could identify, but we continually pursue this each day for another location.”

Petrillo said that keeping the ITW locations under Arlington's control will generate only a relatively small amount of revenue for CDI itself–about $250,0000 to $300,000–but that horsemen would reap the benefits of purse money derived from ITW bets.

“These licenses overall will produce a significant amount of handle–$76 million in handle, and will see about $8 million in host fees and purses going directly to Hawthorne,” for 2022, Petrillo said.

“We feel it's important that the board take action on these licenses today, as 80 to 100 [ITW workers] would be sitting in suspense on whether they have jobs or not,” Petrillo said.

“It would cause a lot of unrest for the public as well,” Petrillo added–without explaining how that strife could ever top the industry-wide calamity CDI triggered by deep-sixing Arlington.

IRB commissioner Beth Doria politely but firmly upbraided Petrillo by saying, “I've heard you reference the loss of jobs multiple times in your presentation today. And I'm just wondering where that concern was when you actually closed the racetrack itself.”
Davis underscored that it won't make much of a fiscal difference which licensee operates the ITWs.

“There may be a small [operational] hiccup. But if Hawthorne took over the OTBs, that money will still flow to the state; it will still flow to the horsemen. But at least we know that [Hawthorne has] a commitment, because they've committed to racing year-round. I don't see anything like that ever coming from Churchill Downs,” Davis said.

Despite some of the commissioners' misgivings about licensing Arlington to run the ITWs, the now-defunct track does have some relative precedents on its side.

Petrillo pointed out that when Arlington was rebuilding from its fire in the 1980s and was later emerging from a separate closure in the 1990s, the IRB let it keep operating ITWs without live racing.

And John Gay, the attorney for the IRB, said when asked during Thursday's meeting that “it is my opinion that the plain language of the [state] statute allows the board to issue these licenses if it so chooses.”

Henry disagreed.

“I am well aware that [CDI] can apply for these licenses because they raced for 60 days in 2021,” Henry said. “And yes, they may have operating control of a racetrack because they control the property. But they turned down their right to request 2022 racing dates, and they do not have a license to conduct pari-mutuel racing in 2022, nor have they requested one.

“I know it's a matter of legal dispute, and there are what I consider dissimilar precedents that allowed previous [ITW] approvals,” Henry said. “But common sense tells me that ITW licenses should only be granted to viable track operators that actually want to engage in horse racing, and that disqualifies these applications.”

When asked by Davis why CDI should be trusted to be involved with Thoroughbred racing in Illinois based on the Hollywood and Calder closures, Petrillo answered by saying that with regard to Hollywood, the current CDI management team was not involved in that decision. He didn't address Calder, which did close under the corporation's current regime.

As for the decision to sell Arlington, he said it was a “very heart-aching decision” for Bill Carstanjen, CDI's chief executive officer, to make.

When Petrillo was asked by Henry if he thought CDI's decision to rid itself of Arlington represented “fairly dramatic damage to the Illinois racing industry in the near term,” Petrillo admitted that Arlington's closure “could be construed as negative.”

But, Petrillo added, shifting into spin mode, “the one racetrack [Hawthorne] that will be remaining to conduct Thoroughbred racing will also see a significant amount of revenue being sent to their facility.”

Henry asked Petrillo if he had any regrets about CDI intentionally missing a deadline in 2019 to build a racino at Arlington after more than a decade of working with the ITHA to get the Illinois Gaming Act passed.

“I don't think that my personal feelings or my personal opinion is of any relevance in this matter,” Petrillo replied.
Henry said that as racinos at Hawthorne and Fairmount Park do open in the state, “The industry in a post-CDI world, in my opinion, will emerge on stronger and more reliable footing. Further, I see no signs that CDI's commitment to racing is going to improve.”

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Bramble Queen, Mohs, Readthecliffnotes Capture Hawthorne’s Weekend Stakes

Stakes action was back on the Hawthorne turf course on Saturday as the return of the Illini Princess and Hawthorne Derby were run over the firm course. The Illini Princess was for Illinois-bred females at 1 1/16 miles while the Hawthorne Derby went at 1 1/8 miles. A wet Sunday washed The Pizza Man Stakes to the sloppy main track.

In the $60,000 added Illini Princess, 2019 race champ Bramble Queen made her return for trainer Mike Dini and was sent away as the 8-5 favorite. Leaving the gate quickly was talented three-year-old filly Katie M'Lady as jockey Julio Felix was able to clear the lead from the outside and carve out the early fractions. Chased by Cat Attack and Northern Alliance through quick fractions of :23.51 and :47.41, Katie M' Lady led the field into the final turn as favorite Bramble Queen and jockey Jareth Loveberry began to pick off horses. At the top of the stretch, Katie M'Lady held a three-length advantage while Bramble Queen had move into second. In the stretch, Katie M'Lady battled but Bramble Queen was too good, running by late to win by a length in 1:42.70. Katie M'Lady was a clear second while 21-1 longshot Embarrassing rallied to finish third.

Owned by Ballybrit Stable, LLC, Bramble Queen returned $5.40, $3.40 and $2.80. Katie M'Lady came back $5.00 and $4.20. Embarrassing returned $10.80 to show.

Following the race, jockey Jareth Loveberry was asked about his trip aboard Bramble Queen: “The race set up really well for her. I got to know her when I rode her a couple of times at Arlington Park. The filly, Katie M'Lady got away to a comfortable lead. I just tried to have as much horse left at the end and she did. The course seemed to be playing even, maybe even a little 'Good,' but I just tried to ride the horse, not the course. This was a good field, the 3-year-olds are getting better and better. This mare had a bunch of heart and just dug it out.”

Two races later, on the Saturday card, the 52nd running of the $100,000 Hawthorne Derby, presented by BetMakers, returned to the Hawthorne turf. With the scratch of morning-line favorite Last Samurai, the field of six saw Royal Prince, from the barn of Brad Cox, sent away as the 2-1 favorite. After the break in the 1 1/8 miles event, there was very little early pace as Temper Tantrum and Royal Prince guided the compact field through an opening quarter in :24.80 and a half in :50.32. With only three lengths separating the field from front to back on the run into the final turn, Modus Operandi and Grey Streak joined the due to challenge through three quarters in 1:14.41. Biding his time in the turn was Mohs and jockey Jareth Loveberry as the field turned for home. In the lane, Temper Tantrum grabbed a brief lead as Mohs split horses and raced into contention while Grey Streak battled on. At the wire, Mohs emerged three-quarters of a length ahead of Grey Streak for the victory while Temper Tantrum held third. Mohs covered the 1 1/8 miles on the firm turf course in 1:50.32.

Owned by ABL Stable, Dominic Bossone, Petter Donnelly and William Oberdorff and trained by Patrick McBurney, Mohs paid $6.20, $4.60 and $3.20. Grey Streak returned $5.40 and $3.40 while Temper Tantrum paid $3.60 to show.

With his second stakes win on the day, jockey Jareth Loveberry commented on Mohs victory: “I thought that there would be a lot more pace but nobody went. My horse settled nicely and we found a good trip and were fortunate to find a hold. I knew we needed to start picking things up because they were going so slow in front so I kind of just judged the horses in front of me and when they started picking things up, so did we. I was hoping we were going to find a hole and fortunately we did.”

On Sunday afternoon the rains began to fall at Hawthorne, washing The Pizza Man stakes off the grass to be contested at 1 1/16 miles on the sloppy Hawthorne main track. The original field of 11 scratched down to six as Hawthorne dirt specialist Readthecliffnotes was sent away as the 7-5 favorite for trainer Michele Boyce. Getting away well in the sloppy going for jockey Edgar Perez, Readthecliffnotes made the lead through an opening quarter in :24.91 as longshot Iwillpersevere chased in second. Down the backstretch, Richiesgotgame ranged up to challenge through a half in :49.88. After three quarters in 1:14.09, it appeared Richiesgotgame was going to give jockey Jareth Loveberry a weekend stakes sweep as he put a head in front. In the lane, Readthecliffnotes dug in gamely and fought back, drawing clear by three-quarters of a length at the wire. Richiesgotgame was a clear second while Iwillpersevere held third. The final time for the 1 1/16 miles on the dirt was 1:45.23.

Readthecliffnotes returned $4.80, $3.00 and $2.20 for owners Cherrywood Racing Stables, II, Terry Biondo and Laura Donohoe. Richiesgotgame returned $3.20 and $2.80 while Iwillpersevere paid $5.40 to show.

Hawthorne Race Course, Chicago's Hometown Track, races three meets in 2021. The spring thoroughbred meet concluded on April 25. The summer Suburban Downs at Hawthorne harness meet began Friday, May 7 and concluded on September 26. The fall thoroughbred meet opened October 8 and races through December 27. First post daily in October and November is 3:10 PM. In December, first post moves to 12:55 PM. For any information about Hawthorne Race Course visit the website www.HawthorneRaceCourse.com.

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Hawthorne Derby Draws Field Of Seven; The Pizza Man Stakes Debuts Sunday

After rain dominated the first two weeks of racing for the fall Thoroughbred meet at Hawthorne Race Course, clear skies and warm temperatures have prevailed this week as three stakes races will return to the Hawthorne turf.

On Saturday afternoon a pair of turf stakes have been carded: the $60,000 added Illini Princes Stakes and $100,000 Hawthorne Derby, presented by BetMakers. On Sunday, the newly named The Pizza Man Stakes will be contested.

The Illini Princess is for Illinois-bred females, 3-year-olds and up to go at 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The Hawthorne Derby, presented by BetMakers is an open stakes event for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on the grass. The Pizza Man Stakes is for Illinois-breds, 3-year-olds and up, also to be run at 1 1/16 miles on the Hawthorne turf.

A look at the three turf stakes:

Saturday – Race 4 – $60,000 Added Illini Princess Stakes

To be contested at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, the $60,000 added Illini Princess Stakes is for Illinois-bred females, 3-year-olds and upward. The 2019 champ of this race returns as Bramble Queen is the 2-1 morning line favorite for owner Ballybrit Stable, LLC and trainer Mike Dini. A ten-time winner from 36 career starts, the well-traveled Bramble Queen has earned over $330,000 on her career. This summer, Bramble Queen became graded stakes placed when she rallied to finish third in the Grade 3 Modesty at Arlington Park. She followed that race with a victory in the Mike Spellman Memorial Stakes on August 14. Jareth Loveberry rides on Saturday.

Emmanuel Esquivel returns to Hawthorne to ride 4-1 second-choice W W Fitzy for trainer Cipriano Contreras. Despite only a couple of turf starts, W W Fitzy has been excellent on the main track, winning a tough optional-claiming allowance race this spring at Oaklawn and most recently taking a starter race at Belterra.

Three-year-old filly Katie M'Lady has been excellent on the turf for owners Cherrywood Racing Stables, II & Oak Rock Racing LLC. Trained by Michele Boyce, Katie M'Lady has won four of five turf starts on her young career, including a front-end score in the Sharon Kirby Memorial Stakes at Arlington on August 7. Regular rider Julio Felix will be aboard once again as Katie M'Lady is 5-1 in the morning line.

PP Horse Trainer Jockey M/L

1 Bramble Queen M. Dini J. Loveberry 2-1

2 Northern Alliance H. Rodriguez A. Rodriguez 30-1

3 Embarrassing H. Rodriguez J. Lopez 30-1

4 White Lies P. Miller A. Quinonez 20-1

5 W W Fitzy C. Contreras E. Esquivel 4-1

6 Launch Away M. Perez V. Santiago 12-1

7 Twelve Red Roses C. Banks E. Perez 50-1

8 Summer Day A. Mitchell R. Bowen 8-1

9 Cat Attack M. Boyce C. Roman 6-1

10 Beyond Proper C. Block J. Tavares 10-1

11 Katie M'Lady M. Boyce J. Felix 5-1

Saturday – Race 6 – $100,000 Hawthorne Derby Presented by BetMakers

After a three-year break, the Hawthorne Derby returns to the turf course to be contested at 1 1/8 miles. A competitive field of seven is led by 5-2 morning line favorite Last Samurai from the barn of trainer Dallas Stewart. Owned by Willis Horton Racing, LLC, Last Samurai just began his turf career this summer with a near miss in a Churchill allowance on June 6. He won his next out, a turf allowance score at Colonial before running ninth in the Dueling Grounds Derby on September 5. His most recent race was a near miss, losing by a neck in the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup at Parx on September 25. Jon Court rides on Saturday.

Trainer Brad Cox sends 7-2 second-choice Royal Prince for owner Steve Landers Racing, LLC. A winner of four of 11 starts in his career on the grass, Royal Prince has scored three times this year, taking the Black Gold at Fair Grounds, Bayou City at Sam Houston and most recently the Caesars via disqualification at Indiana Grand on September 8. Fernando De La Cruz rode in the Caesars and gets the return ride Saturday.

After four starts in Ireland to open his career, Modus Operandi (Ire) makes his second turf start in North America for trainer Brendan Walsh. The son of Frankel (GB), Modus Operandi started two weeks ago on the Keeneland turf, closing late after a slow start to finish sixth. The 4-1 third-choice in the Hawthorne Derby, Modus Operandi will be ridden on Saturday by Alonso Quinonez.

PP Horse Trainer Jockey M/L

1 Grey Streak G. Arnold, II D. Carroll 9-2

2 Last Samurai D. Stewart J. Court 5-2

3 Temper Tantrum A. Hernandez C. Emigh 8-1

4 Modus Operandi (Ire) B. Walsh A. Quinonez 4-1

5 Battle Scars C. Block D. Parker 20-1

6 Royal Prince B. Cox F. De La Cruz 7-2

7 Mohs P. McBurney J. Loveberry 5-1

Sunday – Race 5 – $60,000 Added The Pizza Man Stakes

Best known for his victory in the 2015 Arlington Million, Illinois-bred The Pizza Man broke his maiden over the Hawthorne turf course in 2012 and later that fall won The Buck's Boy Handicap, the namesake of this stakes event until this year. Weather could be a factor for the Sunday event as rain is in the forecast for this 1 1/16 mile turf event for Illinois-bred three-year-olds and up.

The wide-open field of 11 is led by 4-1 morning line choice Fly Nightly for owners Marsico Brothers Racing and trainer Brittany Vanden Berg. Fly Nightly has found the board in 10 of 11 starts on the year, including five victories. Claimed for $20,000 in May, Fly Nightly won a state-bred allowance in his second start for his new connections and followed that race with an open-allowance score. He finished fifth in the state-bred Black Tie Affair stakes on the Arlington turf before running a good third in another tough open allowance in his last out. Chris Emigh rides on Sunday.

Fifteen-time turf winner Cammack runs for owner Team Block and trainer Chris Block. The 2018 winner of this race and 2019 runner-up, Cammack is still going strong at 11-years-old as he was second two starts back in the Black Tie Affair. Jose Lopez will be aboard Cammack once again.

PP Horse Trainer Jockey M/L

1 Land Mark Deal C. Block D. Parker 6-1

2 Ioya Again C. Block J. Tavares 5-1

3 Fly Nightly B. Vanden Berg C. Emigh 4-1

4 One Way Home M. Perez R. Bowen 15-1

5 Cammack C. Block J. Lopez 9-2

6 What's Up Dude M. Cristel V. Santiago 12-1

7 Readthecliffnotes M. Boyce E. Perez 15-1

8 Blue Sky Kowboy M. Boyce C. Roman 6-1

9 Richiesgotgame L. Rivelli J. Loveberry 12-1

10 Iwillpersevere M. Slager S. Uske 30-1

11 Coming Up Aces P. Miller A. Quinonez 12-1

Hawthorne Race Course, Chicago's Hometown Track, races three meets in 2021. The spring thoroughbred meet concluded on April 25. The summer Suburban Downs at Hawthorne harness meet began Friday, May 7 and concluded on September 26. The fall thoroughbred meet opened October 8 and races through December 27. First post daily in October and November is 3:10 PM. In December, first post moves to 12:55 PM. For any information about Hawthorne Race Course visit the website www.HawthorneRaceCourse.com.

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