Gaming expansion, including authorization for slot machines at racetracks, appears to have been left at the starting gate once again in the Illinois General Assembly.
Friday, January 11, 2008
After months of bitter political infighting and under the looming threat of a Chicago-area mass transit meltdown, Illinois lawmakers moved close Dec. 10 to a sweeping expansion of gaming that would include authorization for slot machines at racetracks.
Monday, December 10, 2007
HorseRacing TV will present live coverage of the public memorial for the great John Henry from the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington Oct. 19, beginning at 2 p.m. (EST), the network announced Oct. 18.
Thursday, October 18, 2007Legislation to expand gaming in Illinois remains alive as the legislature nears the scheduled adjournment date for its spring session. House Speaker Michael Madigan upped the ante by announcing Wednesday, May 24, that House Democrats see gaming as the most attractive source of new revenue for the state.
Thursday, May 24, 2007Arlington Park reported a 25% increase in handle and a healthy jump in attendance for its opening weekend this year.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007Illinois horse racing is mired in a "downward spiral that will require action by state government to save it," Hawthorne Race Course President Tim Carey said as his track prepared to open the 2007 Illinois Thoroughbred season Friday.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007An Illinois legislator said he would propose an expansion of gambling that would include racetrack slot machines.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007Add the Illinois Racing Board to the list of those who have no idea what caused the recent spate of fatal breakdowns at Arlington Park Racecourse.
Thursday, July 13, 2006Add the Illinois Racing Board to the list of those who have little idea what has caused the recent spate of fatal breakdowns of horses at Arlington Park Racecourse.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006Some $35 million a year in subsidies promised to the Illinois racing industry in recently passed legislation appears headed for court rather than the tracks. The situation threatens to become a replay of events that derailed an even bigger subsidy approved seven years ago.
Thursday, June 01, 2006The Illinois General Assembly has approved and sent to Gov. Rod Blagojevich legislation that would provide as much as $35 million a year in subsidies for Illinois racing--but only for two years.
Friday, May 05, 2006With time running out in the spring session, legislation that would divert more than $50 million a year from Illinois riverboat casinos to the horse racing industry has stalled in the state House of Representatives.
Friday, March 24, 2006Hawthorne Race Course Tuesday announced a shakeup in management, with one member of the Carey family replacing another at the helm.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006The Jan. 2 closing-day Thoroughbred program at Hawthorne Race Course may be the last live racing action of any kind in the Chicago area for a while. A dispute over purses has resulted in cancellation of harness racing at Balmoral Park and Maywood Park on the first two days of the New Year.
Friday, December 30, 2005Just days after the Illinois Gaming Board revoked the license of Emerald Casino, one-time rival communities once again are preparing to join a prolonged battle for the lucrative riverboat license.
Thursday, December 22, 2005The Illinois Gaming Board voted unanimously Tuesday to revoke the license of Emerald Casino -- the proposed riverboat gaming palace that once was expected to generate millions of dollars a year to support the state's racing industry.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005A proposal by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to ban riverboat gambling in Illinois has been dry-docked in the state Senate.
Friday, November 04, 2005Morton Grove, Illinois, a Chicago suburb once considered as the site of an off-track betting parlor, has modified its zoning laws to preclude any future incursions by wagering interests.
Thursday, June 30, 2005The Jockeys' Guild got a lot of sympathy but no immediate action from the Illinois Racing Board Tuesday on the issues of medical insurance and the scale of weights.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, after long opposition, has opened the door to the expansion of gaming. But his education-funding proposal doesn't specifically include the new casinos and support for racetracks that would make it politically viable in the state House and Senate.
Friday, April 01, 2005The Illinois Racing Board Thursday moved to relax rules governing trace amounts of cocaine found in horses after racing.
Saturday, February 19, 2005The Illinois legislature adjourned its "overtime" spring session without acting on a package of gaming reforms that could have brought slot machines to racetracks.
Thursday, August 05, 2004Plagued by bad weather and short fields during the first month of its season, Arlington Park lost ground to racetracks in other states where purses are sweetened by slot machine revenue, Arlington president Cliff Goodrich told the Illinois Racing Board June 10.
Friday, June 11, 2004The Illinois Legislature missed its midnight May 31 adjournment deadline in a stalemate over the state's budget. The deadlock likely dooms efforts to expand gaming in the state, including slot machines or other revenue-producing plans for Illinois racetracks.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004Prospects for expansion of gaming in Illinois, possibly including slot machines for the state's race tracks, took a double hit as two of the state's top elected officials announced their opposition.
Thursday, May 13, 2004Support is building in the Illinois General Assembly for an end-of-session revision of gaming laws that could include slot machines at race tracks.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004Arlington Park has asked the Illinois Racing Board for approval to open its 2004 season April 28, two weeks ahead of the track's traditional Mother's Day opener. If granted, the request would take the Kentucky Derby simulcast rights away from National Jockey Club, which hosted Derby Day this year during its spring meet at Hawthorne Race Course.
Friday, August 01, 2003Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in a major reversal of form, has announced he will veto any expansion of gaming in Illinois, including a plan to put slot machines at racetracks.
Wednesday, May 21, 2003The Illinois Racing Board Tuesday approved two new off-track betting parlors, bringing to 25 the number of off-track wagering sites in the state.
Tuesday, May 13, 2003A key Illinois lawmaker has unveiled comprehensive gaming legislation that would authorize 3,200 slot machines for Illinois racetracks.
Thursday, May 08, 2003A tight state budget and political maneuvering are combining to brighten the prospect for approval of slot machines at racetracks in Illinois.
Friday, April 11, 2003Illinois harness horsemen have ended a 2 1/2-month entry-box boycott with a deal that makes new state-authorized funding for all Illinois racing interests even more vital.
Monday, March 17, 2003Consolidation came to Illinois racing with a financial question mark on the first day of March as National Jockey Club opened its winter-spring meet at Hawthorne Race Course.
Monday, March 03, 2003An ongoing entry-box boycott by Illinois harness horsemen shut down live racing at Balmoral Park and Maywood Park for the first two weeks of 2003, with no end in sight and potential implications for the scheduled resumption of Thoroughbred racing in March.
Monday, January 13, 2003Santa won't be bringing any $40,000 checks to the people holding consolation tickets in the Breeders' Cup Ultra Pick Six.
Thursday, December 19, 2002The release of money to holders of Breeders' Cup Ultra Pick 6 consolation tickets remains on hold, with no definitive date for resolution in sight.
Thursday, December 19, 2002The Illinois Racing Board, without prior notice and over the angry objections of some track operators, on Nov. 12 slapped an immediate ban on wagers involving more than three races. It also put off licensing two tote companies for next year.
Tuesday, November 12, 2002After a lot of sound and fury during a 10-hour meeting, the Illinois Racing Board produced a 2003 racing schedule that honors the status quo and enables a semi-merger between Hawthorne Race Course and Sportsman's Park.
Wednesday, September 25, 2002The Illinois Racing Board enters a crucial decision-making month with new leadership that has no direct experience in any aspect of horse racing.
Sunday, August 25, 2002Given the consolidation of Sportsman's Park and Hawthorne Race Course, and a bid by Balmoral Park for Thoroughbred dates, the Illinois Racing Board will have a lot to sort through before it slots the 2003 racing schedule in the state.
Thursday, August 01, 2002Sportsman's Park will merge operations with its next-door neighbor, Hawthorne Race Course, and plans to conduct all racing at Hawthorne starting next year, officials of both tracks said July 31.
Wednesday, July 31, 2002Illinois racing took a multimillion-dollar hit as Gov. George Ryan sliced up this year's overall state appropriations bill to deal with a budget crisis. Among the items cut by Ryan was money for the "recapture" of purse money.
Monday, July 01, 2002Arlington Park has several thousand seats still available for the Oct. 26 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships despite an early sales push and good demand.
Sunday, June 23, 2002Arlington Park received 6,066 applications for the initial allocation of tickets for the Oct. 26 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships.
Monday, June 17, 2002The dispute over the $1-million Illinois Derby bonus earned by War Emblem appears headed for court. Still unresolved: Which court, and upon whose initiative?
Friday, June 14, 2002Fierce partisan warfare over the state budget blocked a last-minute, controversial flurry of racetrack-related legislation in the final hours of the regular spring session of the Illinois General Assembly.
Monday, June 03, 2002Fierce partisan warfare over the state budget blocked a last-minute, controversial flurry of race track-related legislation in the final hours of the "regular" spring session of the Illinois General Assembly.
Saturday, June 01, 2002No one in Illinois government seems to like the idea of slot machines at racetracks, but the proposal remained on the table as the legislature's spring session went into overtime in an attempt to find new revenue sources to solve a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall.
Wednesday, May 29, 2002The latest unlikely solution for a huge Illinois state budget crisis: Slot machines at racetracks.
Thursday, May 16, 2002The decision to scratch One Tuff Fox from the Illinois Derby (gr. II) was mandated by state racing rules and was in the best interest of the wagering public, chief state Steward Eddie Arroyo said Sunday
Monday, April 15, 2002
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