Arlington, ITHA still at impasse over 2020 dates

CHICAGO - Representatives of Arlington and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association failed despite lengthy weekend negotiations to agree on a contract that would govern a 2020 racing season at the suburban track, and a summer Thoroughbred race meet here remained in limbo.

The Illinois Racing Board on Monday morning reconvened a special meeting from Friday, June 5, that was suspended to give the two parties a chance to agree on a contract governing a potential 2020 Arlington race meet. Despite meeting in person for nearly five hours Saturday and negotiating by phone on Sunday and Monday morning, Arlington and the ITHA failed to agree on a contract.

The IRB concluded Monday’s session saying it would revisit Arlington’s request to amend their 2020 racing season at a regularly scheduled monthly board meeting June 18. If by then the parameters for running what probably would be a 30-day racing season this summer aren’t in place, Arlington could remain dark during 2020.

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Arlington and the ITHA were supposed to have a contract in place by this past Jan. 1 under new racing rules passed in June 2019. The Arlington stables remain empty save a USDA quarantine facility used for international shipping.

Arlington’s meet had a scheduled May 1 opening, but like other tracks set to resume racing around that period its season was delayed because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which hit especially hard in parts of Chicago.

Arlington officials as recently as a May IRB meeting said it wasn’t financially feasible for the track to conduct spectator-free racing, a stated position that changed over the last two weeks.

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But even as Arlington agreed to consider a fan-free meet, bargaining with the ITHA, which wants as much purse money for local horsemen as possible, failed to bear fruit.

During the June 5 portion of the special meeting, when the IRB gave the final stamp of approval for Hawthorne to resume a harness-racing meet and Fairmount Park a Thoroughbred meet, the board tapped executive director Domenic DiCera and commissioner Thomas McCauley to mediate the weekend negotiations. McCauley testified Monday that several issues had been resolved Saturday, but that track representatives and ITHA leadership couldn’t come to final terms.

At the heart of the continued standoff is the allocation of purse money during a 2021 racing season. Arlington has acceded to the ITHA request that it forgo running open stakes races in 2020 to maximize overnight purses this year, but so far has been determined to bring back the Arlington Million and the $600,000 Beverly D. next year. The ITHA is willing to sign a one-year contract and negotiate later the terms of a 2021 season, but Arlington so far has insisted on a two-year deal. Recent contracts have covered two seasons but the entities also have run meets under a one-year contract.

“If there only were going to be a one-year agreement, I think the parties could proceed,” McCauley testified.

Churchill Downs Inc. owns Arlington and last summer declined to apply for a casino license when given the opportunity following Illinois’ passage of expanded gambling legislation. Hawthorne and Fairmount both applied for licenses. CDI owns a majority stake in Rivers Casino, Illinois’ largest casino, which is located about 13 miles from Arlington, and CDI so far has indicated no interest in selling the Arlington property to other racing interests.