Galloping Out: Re-homing our horses when they retire from racing at Arlington Park or Hawthorne Racecourse.
A big part of St. Louis area horse racing left us earlier this week. David A. Gall, who spent almost all of his 43-year career at two area race tracks, defunct Cahokia Downs in Alorton and Collinsville’s Fairmount Park (now FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing), died Sunday in State College, Pennsylvania, at the age of 79.
One of the bidders in the Arlington Park property’s impending sale, Roy Arnold of the Endeavor Hotel Group, expressed frustration at a recent decision by Churchill Downs Inc. to not apply for 2022 racing dates. The move by CDI means that live racing is unlikely to occur next year at the historic track in the suburbs of Chicago.
Arlington Park and its corporate owner Churchill Downs Inc. did not apply for 2022 live horse-racing dates by a Friday state deadline, dashing distant hopes of owners, trainers and fans that the iconic racetrack might return for a last lap.
Continuing their campaign to sabotage future gaming opportunities at Arlington Park, track executives are refusing to apply with the Illinois Racing Board for race dates in 2022.
ITHA President Mike Campbell urged the attorney general’s office to investigate whether Churchill Downs committed state or federal antitrust violations when it took a series of steps to preclude casino gaming and abate pari-mutuel wagering at Arlington Park.