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Gotham winner Alysweep is favored for Saturday's Illinois Derby, but a strong field will face him in the 1 1/8-mile race.
Wednesday, April 02, 2003Hasten to Add, who has been standing in California, has been purchased by Gary Shultz to stand in Illinois.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003Arlington Park has been authorized to distribute funds from Breeders' Cup Ultra Pick 6 wagers to the customers who correctly selected five of six winners. There are 78 valid winning tickets each worth almost $44,000.
Thursday, March 20, 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, 2003Live racing returns to Hawthorne as the National Jockey Club at Hawthorne meeting begins March 1, running 48 days through May 8.
Tuesday, February 25, 2003Kafwain and Sky Mesa are among the 3-year-olds nominated to the April 5 race.
Wednesday, February 12, 2003The owners of Balmoral Park and Maywood Park in Illinois are interested in purchasing Ellis Park, the western Kentucky racetrack owned by Churchill Downs Inc., according to published reports.
Tuesday, February 11, 2003Nearly nine months after the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) that triggered the situation, the case of the $1 million bonus payable to the owners of War Emblem has finally been settled.
Friday, January 24, 2003Arlington Park announced that Frank G. Gabriel Jr., who was named executive vice president of racing operations last Nov. 4, will add the role of racing secretary to his current list of duties.
Thursday, January 23, 2003Attorneys for the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association will file for an injunction in the next few days to stop the "recapture" payment made annually to the state's racetracks from the horsemen's purse fund since 1995.
Thursday, January 23, 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, 2003Hawthorne closed out a big year of racing in Chicago with fine numbers for the fall racing meeting. The fall meet brought about full fields, strong racing, and solid handle figures.
Thursday, January 02, 2003Illinois, which halted pick 4 and pick 6 bets Nov. 9, will again offer the wagers beginning Friday.
Wednesday, December 11, 2002Cliff Goodrich and Steve Sexton will head Arlington Park and Churchill Downs, respectively, Churchill Downs Inc. announced late the afternoon of Dec. 10.
Tuesday, December 10, 2002The executive director of the Illinois Racing Board said Friday it was premature to say if the board will take up at its Dec. 9 meeting the issue of dispersing funds to holders of winning Pick Six tickets from the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships.
Friday, November 22, 2002Five months before the Pick Six Scandal began dominating headlines, the Illinois Derby-Kentucky Derby bonus controversy was making news. A hearing to determine just who will collect the cool $1 million payout should be set soon after the New Year.
Wednesday, November 20, 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, 2002Racetrack and casino operator Penn National Gaming is reportedly in talks to buy one of its smaller casino rivals, Hollywood Casino Corp.
Tuesday, July 09, 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, 2002Robert F. "Bob" Carey, Jr., assistant to the president of Hawthorne Racecourse, died Saturday from injuries sustained in a fall last November.
Sunday, June 30, 2002Arlington Park hosted the Prairie State Festival on June 22--five races restricted to horses bred in Illinois.
Tuesday, June 25, 2002Three Punch Louie topped Saturday's annual Illinois Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Foundation sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Tuesday, June 25, 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, 2002About $450,000 will be on the line June 20 in six Illinois-registered stakes that make up the third Prairie State Festival at Arlington Park. The afternoon is designed to showcase Illinois racing and the history of the state.
Friday, June 21, 2002Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar has been appointed to the Youbet.com board of directors effective Wednesday.
Thursday, June 20, 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, 2002Future wagers will be available for the first time on this year's eight Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championship races.
Wednesday, April 24, 2002A field of 10 headed by Select Stable's Repent has been entered for the $500,000 Illinois Derby at Sportsman's Park April 6. The grade II event offers a $1-million bonus to the connections of the winner if that horse goes on to capture any Triple Crown race.
Tuesday, April 02, 2002An odd turn of events threatens any chance for construction of a new riverboat casino in Rosemont, Ill., that is designed to pump tens of millions of dollars a year into the state's horse racing industry.
Tuesday, March 05, 2002National Jockey Club officials assured the Illinois Racing Board Wednesday that the Sportsman's Park horse racing meet set to begin March 1 is not threatened by financial problems that have closed the organization's Chicago Motor Speedway for the year. In other business, the board began the process of changing some state regulations to facilitate the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Arlington Park this fall.
Wednesday, February 13, 2002The 2002 Sportsman's Park Thoroughbred meet is expected to go on as scheduled even though Chicago Motor Speedway has decided to suspend auto racing this year.
Thursday, February 07, 2002Arlington Park plans to reschedule and enrich its stakes program this summer to provide a "Preview Weekend at the Park" before the Oct. 26 running of the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships.
Monday, January 21, 2002The Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championship races will make their first appearance in the nation's third-largest market -- at Arlington Park, northwest of Chicago -- on Oct. 26, 2002. After months of complex negotiations, Breeders' Cup Limited, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Churchill Downs, Inc., parent company of Arlington, announced the deal Monday.
Monday, December 03, 2001Sportsman's Park will offer a $1-million bonus for any horse that wins next year's $500,000 Illinois Derby and then goes on to win any Triple Crown race in the subsequent months. The Illinois track released its $2.1-million stakes schedule Tuesday.
Tuesday, November 13, 2001Officials of Breeders' Cup Limited and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced Monday, Dec. 3, that Arlington Park in suburban Chicago has been named the host site for the 2002 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. The announcement was made at a press conference in Chicago's ESPN Zone restaurant.
Thursday, November 08, 2001It's all very preliminary, but there are indications the Chicago Fire soccer team is considering Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill., as a possible site for permanent soccer-only stadium.
Wednesday, June 27, 2001Frank Calabrese and a 2-year-old colt by Victory Speech combined to top Saturday's Illinois sale. Calabrese paid $100,000 for hip #25 at the June 23 Illinois Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Foundation sale at Arlington Park.
Tuesday, June 26, 2001There was an odd feel to Arlington Park's mid-week opening day June 13, but by the time the first weekend of the 2001 meet was in the books, track management felt pretty good about things.
Tuesday, June 19, 2001Rene Riera Jr. has resigned his post as chief state steward following an investigation into his role in distribution of a misleading workout time at Hawthorne Race Course.
Friday, June 01, 2001Legislation is advancing through the Illinois General Assembly that would bail out Fairmount Park from a purse-money problem that jeopardizes its future.
Tuesday, May 08, 2001The Illinois Racing Board said Thursday it has found no evidence of wrongdoing at Arlington Park and its off-track betting operation following an investigation of allegations employees were fraudulently cashing outstanding winning tickets and keeping the money, which totaled $1 million.
Friday, April 27, 2001In 2000, Sportsman's Park suffered from its conversion to a dual-use facility for horse and motor sports racing. With sight lines and other fan amenities compromised, attendance and handle sagged. To address the problems, Sportsman's Park spent several million dollars during the past year to improve its facility, then implemented an extensive fan outreach program to show off the changes.
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