Arlington still towers, a white palace, over the western edge of the northwest Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, the same grand racetrack that its chairman, Richard Duchossois, built after fire gutted the old grandstand in 1985.

Duchossois, under the auspices of Arlington’s parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., still mans the helm, but he is 93, and the murmured question in Chicago racing asks how much longer that will be the case. And what of the racetrack itself? How long will it be around?

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – He has a ways to go, this Sound Effect, but if further inspiration is needed to keep up his good synthetic-surface work, a rival in Sunday’s featured eighth race at Arlington, Helicopter, would provide it.

The judges have called for a photo finish in attempting to determine which Arlington entity is hotter right now: The air, or trainer Larry Rivelli.

At noon on Wednesday, the thermometer read about 93 degrees near Arlington, the temperature expected to climb a few more degrees through the afternoon. Meanwhile, Rivelli’s barn entered Wednesday’s racing action just as scorching, with 14 wins from just 33 starters, a strike rate of 42 percent. Eight more Rivelli starters have finished second or third, giving him an in-the-money percentage of 67.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Larry Rivelli, who is based in Chicago, won the first race of the marathon Woodbine meeting with Neverrguwithrichie on April 2. On Sunday, Rivelli will be on hand to saddle Helicopter for the $150,000 Valedictory, a 1 3/4-mile marathon stakes race on a marathon 13-race card that is set to begin at 1 p.m. and conclude at 6:51 p.m.

“I think we’ll win,” Rivelli said. “The horse is doing fantastic. He’s like the little engine that could; he just keeps going and going.”