One member of the Illinois Racing Board, author and journalist Alan Henry, had a lot to say about Churchill Downs Inc.'s decision to put Arlington Park up for sale at the monthly board meeting. According to the Chicago Daily-Herald, Henry called CDI's refusal to sell the property to another racing entity “a shortsighted and self-defeating posture” that would irreparably tarnish the company's brand.
“While CDI's stock is currently riding high, the corporate graveyard is full of companies whose leaders lost sight of their brand and in doing so lost the loyalty of their customers,” Henry said. “In the long run, the company that trumpets its bond to horse racing and wants to keep the brand in good standing across all its platforms has to respect current horseplayers and keep attracting new ones. To do that, you've got to honor the horse and the horsemen and mean it, and that starts by keeping tracks open, not closing them down.”
Henry referenced CDI's shut downs of California's Hollywood Park and Florida's Calder Race Course, adding that CDI now sees Arlington as “disposable” in an effort to protect the nearby CDI-owned Rivers Casino.
CDI announced the sale of Arlington on Feb. 23, 2021, indicating that it would host live racing at the Illinois track through the 2021 season, which is scheduled to end on Sept. 25.
Read more at the Chicago Daily-Herald.
The post Illinois Racing Board Member Criticizes Churchill For ‘Shortsighted,’ ‘Self-Defeating’ Decision To Sell Arlington appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
