Four Months After Announced Arlington Sale, IRB Just Now Initiates CDI Talks

After four months of no public action by the Illinois Racing Board (IRB) since Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), announced its polarizing intention to sell Arlington International Racecourse for “non-horse racing” purposes, IRB chairman Daniel Beiser disclosed just before the end of Tuesday's meeting that the IRB will only now begin the process of reaching out to the gaming corporation to try and get a clearer understanding of what is likely to happen to suburban Chicago's landmark Thoroughbred track, which faces potential permanent closure at the end of this season.

But Beiser said that discussion with CDI won't happen at an open, public meeting at which stakeholders can listen to sworn testimony and commissioners can ask questions about the potentially devastating blow to Illinois racing.

Instead, Beiser explained, he is asking the IRB's executive director, Domenic DiCera, to set up a private phone call “in the near term” with CDI that will include only those two IRB officials and whichever representative(s) CDI makes available.

“Hopefully it will become a reality soon.” Beiser said, seemingly indicating it's not a certainty CDI officials will agree to participate.

“Two things I want to be able to accomplish by that [call],” Beiser said. “Number one is I want to reiterate and explain to them how much this uncertainty is impacting the men, women of the horse racing industry moving forward…. The last two years have been unbearable for these men and women and their future.

“The other thing I would like to find out–as much as they'd like to divulge–[is] what's going to happen in the near term and in the long term regarding this whole process?” Beiser said.

Beiser said it was only on Monday–the day prior to the June 22 meeting–that he finally directed the IRB's executive director to initiate contact with the gaming corporation. CDI had announced its intention to sell Arlington back on Feb. 23.

“This is the proper time now to make that contact,” Beiser explained. “Prior to this, the bidding process was open and was ongoing. That has come to a conclusion. And now, from what we've been told in the past, their decision is going to be made sometime in the third quarter. But we would like to try to, again, ask them to please bring some conclusion to this that would allow for people to plan for their future.”

Beiser said he'd like CDI to accede to some form of “hopeful accommodation” that would help to preserve the linchpin track of the Illinois Thoroughbred circuit, although he did not elaborate and spoke only in general terms about what might be discussed in that private phone call.

“Once we've made that contact, I will reach out to commissioners to let them know what went on…as soon as that phone call, hopefully, is completed,” Beiser said.

The IRB has now held three teleconference meetings since Arlington was officially put up for sale. Yet instead of addressing head-on the prospect of the region's signature track vanishing or proposing ways in which regulators might help to salvage racing at Arlington under new ownership, the IRB has treated the most pressing Illinois racing issue in decades as the proverbial “elephant in the room” by almost entirely avoiding the subject during open, public sessions.

Only one commissioner, Alan Henry, has even brought up the topic at all, using the “commissioner comments” portion of the agenda during the last three monthly meetings to read into the record prepared statements seeking a “win-win” outcome for CDI, the racing community, and the state.

But up until Beiser's disclosure on Tuesday about the planned phone call, the entire nine-member board has reacted with silence and inaction regarding the Arlington sale each time Henry has spoken up.

Although CDI has stated it has received multiple bids on the 326-acre Arlington property, only two have been publicly disclosed by the bidding parties.

One, submitted by the track's former president, Roy Arnold, in partnership with a consortium of developers and investors, calls for the track's grandstand and track to remain in place, while a mid-size arena for a minor-league hockey team is constructed as part of a 60-acre entertainment district alongside a 300-unit housing development and 60 acres of industrial space. Racing would continue under the new ownership.

The other bid is from the Chicago Bears football team, which wants to build a new stadium and put up mixed-use development on the site, razing the racetrack to do so.

On June 21, officials for the village of Arlington Heights, where the track is located, voted unanimously to tweak some zoning rules to prohibit certain uses of that property, like for adult businesses, kiddie parks, funeral parlors and warehouses.

But according to a story in suburban Chicago's Daily Herald, Mayor Tom Hayes underscored at that Monday night meeting that the village does not control or own the property, and there's only so much it can do to impact the outcome of the sale.

“The ultimate decision will not be ours. Certainly we'll have some involvement in terms of uses down the road. But the proposals were not submitted to the village of Arlington Heights, but to Churchill Downs…. As I've said many times, and I think the board agrees, our goal is to put the property to its highest and best use for our community.”

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Bourbon Courage Filly Sets Quarter-Mile Mark in Timonium Thursday

TIMONIUM, MD – A filly by Bourbon Courage worked the fastest quarter-mile and three juveniles shared the day’s fastest furlong work time during Thursday’s second session of the under-tack show ahead of next week’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in Timonium, Maryland.

Bourbon on Sunday (hip 286), a Maryland-bred daughter of Bourbon Courage consigned by Naoise Agnew’s Nomad Farm Training and Sales, worked a quarter-mile in Thursday’s bullet time of :21 1/5. It was the second fastest quarter-mile through two of three sessions of the under-tack show.

“We actually thought she might go a little faster than that,” Agnew admitted. “She prepped out here really fast, :21 4/5 and they were just sitting on her basically. But we are very happy with her. She did it very easily by herself. And she blew a back shoe as well in the work, that could have been our :21 flat right there.”

Agnew is consigning the filly on behalf of breeder Ron Parker who has a five-horse commercial broodmare band based in Maryland. Parker purchased the filly’s dam Sunday in Malibu (Malibu Moon) for $5,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic January sale. The stakes-placed mare is also the dam of stakes placed Faze the Nation (Cal Nation).

Agnew has a farm near Penn National and Bourbon on Sunday has been working at the Pennsylvania track.

“She’s ready to go right on,” Agnew said. “She is a really, really nice horse. I’d put any money on it that she’s going to be a stakes horse.”

A transplanted Irishman, Agnew has been consigning under the Nomad banner for eight years. His four-horse 2020 Midlantic consignment includes Motherland Bourbon (Bourbon Courage) (hip 131), also bred by Parker.

“I come here with a handful of horses every year,” he said. “I have two client horses this year and the other ones are mine.”

Keiber Rengifo’s Golden Rock consignment sent out a daughter of Fed Biz (hip 276) to earn a share in Thursday’s furlong bullet time of :10 flat. The Maryland-bred filly is the first foal out of stakes-placed Stormin Wendy (Ecclesiastic). She was purchased by Scott and Evan Dilworth for $25,000 as a weanling at the 2018 Keeneland November sale before RNA’ing for $21,000 at Keeneland last September.

“Our client bought her at the Keeneland sale in November as a weanling,” Rengifo said. “She was going to go to the yearling sale, but there were so many horses there she got a little lost. He just decided to keep her. He saw a lot of talent in her when they were prepping for the yearling sale and they decided to send her to a 2-year-old in training sales.”

This is Golden Rock’s second consignment to the Midlantic sale, but Rengifo has plenty of positive memories of the Timonium auction.

“I was working before with Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo and they had a lot success at this sale and that’s why I really like this sale,” the Venezuelan said. “When I worked for those guys, they did really good here. So to have a filly like her is something special. Not too many horses can do a :10 flat here.”

The bullet worker capped a big day for Golden Rock, which also sent out three horses to work in :10 1/5: a filly by Munnings (hip 186); a colt by Goldencents (hip 243); and a filly by More Than Ready (hip 258). The consignment also sent out colts by Bodemeister (hip 228) and Constitution (hip 256) to work in :10 2/5.

“Constitution is really hot right now and this horse loved the dirt and we really like the Munnings filly,” Rengifo said. “The Goldencents colt is Pennsylvania-bred, so we decided to bring him up here since it’s so close to Parx and Penn National.”

Rengifo, who rode some 18 winners on the Midlantic circuit in 2015, 2016 and 2017, breezed all of the Golden Rock horses in Timonium and said he thought the track played fair throughout the day.

“It’s not too hard or too deep. They do a good job with the track-they put a lot of water on it,” he said. “Last year, they were breezing 35 of 40 horses a set and they would have four or five sets. Now with the seven sets, I don’t mind because I think it’s the same opportunity for all of the consignors. Every set gives a really good chance to everyone.”

For the second day in a row, Luis Garcia’s L.G. consignment sent out a first-crop juvenile by Speightster (hip 261) to work the furlong bullet time of :10 flat. Garcia purchased the filly, in partnership with Gina Fennell, for $20,000 at the Keeneland September sale. The bay is the first foal out of graded stakes placed Spirituality (Gemologist).

Consignor Al Pike was also represented by his second furlong bullet worker of the under-tack show. Pike sent out a filly by Goldencents (hip 263) to work in :10 flat Thursday. She is out of Spring Zapper (Ghostzapper), a daughter of graded stakes placed Spring Season (Seeking the Gold). Pike purchased the juvenile for $30,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton July sale.

The under-tack show concludes with a final session Friday beginning at 8 a.m. The Midlantic sale will be held next Monday and Tuesday with bidding scheduled to commence at 11 a.m.

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