Chicago

Once considered among the most beautiful facilities in racing, Arlington Park met the wrecking ball Friday. The work on the exterior portion of the track started after the Arlington Heights Building and Safety Department approved a request from the Chicago Bears for a building permit that allowed the demolition of the grandstand and other structures on the property. In February, the Bears completed its purchase of the 326-acre property from Churchill Downs, Inc. for $197.2 million. The Bears have yet to fully commit to building a new stadium on the...

Hawthorne Race Course will swap out Saturdays in favor of Thursdays for the upcoming June-through-Labor Day portion of its season, continuing a schedule switch that the Chicago-area track began with the current spring meet. The Illinois Racing Board (IRB) granted the change with a unanimous vote at its Apr. 20 meeting. Right now Hawthorne is racing on a Thursday-and-Sunday schedule. The changes will go into effect starting May 31, when the meet expands to three days: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Post times are 2:30 p.m. Central. Jim Miller, Hawthorne's racing...

Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky and Hawthorne Race Course outside Chicago have canceled their Friday night programs due to freezing temperatures, the tracks announced Wednesday. Northern Kentucky is expected to experience a wind chill as low as 25 below zero. The National Weather Service forecast for Friday in Florence calls for a 20% chance of snow showers and a high of 6 degrees. The breezy conditions could lead to wind chills ranging from 10-25 below zero. Turfway Park is scheduled to resume racing Wednesday with a first post of 5:55...

Illinois racing has its problems. There's no more Arlington Park, there will be only 64 days of racing this year and the circuit will shut down in the middle of the summer. But with the 2022 season about to start Saturday at Hawthorne, officials at that track are predicting that navigating through this year will be challenging but not impossible. "How are we going to do? I can tell you more Wednesday when we draw the first card," said Racing Secretary Al Plever. "But I think were going to be...

The future of Arlington Park remains very much up in the air, but Roy Arnold is convinced that racing can prosper there and is hopeful that he can spearhead an effort to insure that one of America's most beautiful racetracks remains a racetrack for years to come. Arnold should know. He was the track's president during better times, from 2006-2010, and is currently the president and CEO of Endeavor Hotel Group. Arnold was instrumental in bringing together a consortium interested in purchasing Arlington Park from Churchill Downs. Churchill announced in...

In years past, opening day at Arlington Park has been an event. It comes at a time when winter is giving way to spring in the Chicago area and takes place at what may be the most beautiful racetrack in the U.S. But Friday's opening day at a track that first ran in 1927 will occur under a pall. To some, it will seem more like the opening to a funeral than the opening to a race meet. "Under that thinly disguised veil of happiness for this opening day will...

FanDuel Group has announced plans to make a multimillion dollar investment in Fairmount Park Racetrack in Collinsville, IL. Under the terms of the agreement, Fairmount Park Racetrack will be rebranded as FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing. In addition, the company plans a full revitalization of the venue including the opening of a FanDuel Sportsbook retail location. The agreement signifies FanDuel Group's first investment in a race track. FanDuel Group will work with William Stiritz and Associates to revitalize the 95-year-old track including significant upgrades to the facility and the establishment...

Arlington Park will allow limited spectators to attend live race days beginning Sept. 3 and for the remainder of the COVID-19 abbreviated race meeting, according to a post on the track's website that appeared late Thursday afternoon. Up to 300 patrons will be permitted to watch races on track from a variety of outdoor seating areas with strict safety protocols in place. All racegoers will be required to wear masks at all times, unless consuming food or beverages. No gatherings will be permitted indoors. The only interior areas with public...

Hawthorne Race Course will not run a spring Thoroughbred meet in 2020 because the afternoon races will conflict with the large-scale reconstruction of the track's grandstand and clubhouse that will transform the plant into a racino. Earlier this summer, Illinois legalized slot machines, table games and sports betting at the state's commercial pari-mutuel tracks. The Blood-Horse first broke the story on Thursday, but TDN obtained additional details about the project from both Hawthorne and Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA) officials. "The beginning of the construction is going to be in...

Richard Hazelton, who transitioned from a successful career as a jockey to become a perennial leading trainer on the Chicago circuit, passed away Tuesday. The father of TVG personality Scott Hazelton, Richard Hazelton was 88 years old. The elder Hazelton was the leading rider at Agua Caliente Racetrack in 1945 in a colony that also included the likes of Johnny Longden, according to a video recently posted on Twitter by TVG. "He had a fake ID that was supposed to allow him ride that year at Del Mar that said...