View From The Eighth Pole: Sad State Of Affairs At Once-Mighty Arlington Park
"Arlington Park could be up and running now, without spectators as most North American tracks are doing. It isn't operating because Arlington initially was reluctant to do what others have done, their management team saying they were different than all those others, that it didn't make economic sense for them to run without on-track customers. ... Arlington did an about face when the Illinois Racing Board threatened to take away their profitable host status for simulcasting this summer (including the Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Derby) and give it to Hawthorne, so the south suburban track could begin compiling purse revenue for its fall Thoroughbred meet. ... Arlington has been dragging its feet in negotiations with the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association on a contract for 2020 – something that should have been completed months ago. The track is insisting on a two-year contract at a time when no one has any idea what 2021 is going to look like because of the ongoing public health crisis."
