{"id":115662,"date":"2019-09-24T18:40:32","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T01:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=115662"},"modified":"2019-10-23T15:44:19","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T22:44:19","slug":"illinois-oks-racing-dates-for-arlington-despite-qualms-over-casino-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-oks-racing-dates-for-arlington-despite-qualms-over-casino-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois Racing Board OKs Dates for Arlington Park Despite Qualms Over Casino Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Illinois Racing Board (IRB) voted unanimously Tuesday to approve racing dates for the 2020 calendar year. But that didn\u2019t stop some members from questioning Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) officials about the company’s commitment to Arlington Park and its opposition to building a casino at the suburban Chicago track.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Arlington Million, the signature race at Arlington Park, will run in 2020 after the Illinois Racing Board approved the suburban Chicago track’s request for 68 live racing dates next year. State officials have expressed serious concerns about Arlington owner Churchill Downs’ decision not to apply for a casino license at the track. (Image: NBCChicago.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The move means Arlington will get the 68 days it requested for thoroughbred racing for next year. However, the vote came a week later than expected after state officials raised concerns about CDI\u2019s decision last month not to apply for a casino license.<\/p>\n

IRB Chairman Jeffrey Brincat said it\u2019s now up to all parties to move forward and work toward a common goal of bolstering racing in the state.<\/p>\n

Am I happy without a casino at Arlington? Of course not,” he said at the end of Tuesday’s meeting. “Do I believe it was the intention of the legislature to do a casino at every racetrack<\/a>? Of course. At the same time, as a businessman, I understand everybody\u2019s got to walk the path that\u2019s best for them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cSo, I charge everybody to continue to work as hard as we can, find as best solutions, and therein we\u2019ll do what we\u2019ve dreamed about for a better part of two decades, and that\u2019s restoring Illinois racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The racetracks received the right to pursue a casino license, with up to 1,200 slot machines, thanks to expanded gaming legislation state lawmakers passed earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Churchill Still Reviewing Options<\/h2>\n

Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said last month the terms under which Arlington Park<\/a> would be granted a license for casino gaming would not produce acceptable returns. The Louisville, Ky.-based company already owns a majority share in the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, which is less than a half-hour away in Chicago\u2019s northern suburbs.<\/p>\n

That news did not sit well with Illinois officials, who considered withholding the racing dates from Arlington as a result. The board suspended its September meeting, which started last Tuesday, for a week in order to hold discussions with Arlington and Churchill officials. However, those talks did not result in any progress.<\/p>\n

\n

The Board met for more than an hour Tuesday, with Arlington\u2019s issues taking up all the discussion. Commissioner Thomas McCauley had some of the most pointed questions to Arlington Park President Tony Petrillo and CDI Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brad Blackwell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Blackwell repeatedly declined to discuss the company\u2019s plans for the track, including the possibility of selling the track. He told the commissioners it would be \u201cirresponsible\u201d for him to answer such questions in a public setting.<\/p>\n

However, Blackwell did indicate that the company would like some time to figure out what is best for Arlington. He noted that the company\u2019s namesake track waited for years before pursuing historical horse racing while other Kentucky tracks opened parlors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have all the answers now, but what we\u2019re committed to doing is trying to find those answers,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes that takes time, sometimes it\u2019s not as obvious as it may appear\u201d<\/p>\n

Concerns Over Job Losses<\/h2>\n

Petrillo said Arlington Park employed 2,353 people during the last two years, including full-time, part-time, and seasonal workers. He told the IRB that any gains that would be made through expanded gaming would pale in comparison to the loss of jobs if the state chose to pull the racing dates for 2020.<\/p>\n

That argument ended up winning the board. At least for now.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, there would be so much disruption with respect to worker\u2019s lives if this schedule materially changed that I\u2019m going to vote yes,\u201d McCauley said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Illinois Racing Board (IRB) voted unanimously Tuesday to approve racing dates for the 2020 calendar year. But that didn\u2019t stop some members from questioning Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) officials about the company’s commitment to Arlington Park and its opposition to building a casino at the suburban Chicago track. The move means Arlington will get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":115666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14577,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIllinois OKs Racing Dates for Arlington Despite Qualms Over Casino Plans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Board Members had considered withholding the dates from Arlington after owner Churchill Downs announced it would not seek a casino at the racetrack.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illinois OKs Racing Dates for Arlington Despite Qualms Over Casino Plans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Board Members had considered withholding the dates from Arlington after owner Churchill Downs announced it would not seek a casino at the racetrack.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-oks-racing-dates-for-arlington-despite-qualms-over-casino-plans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-25T01:40:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-10-23T22:44:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Arlington-Park.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" 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