Block defeats Campbell for ITHA president

Veteran trainer Chris Block has been elected president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, the northern Illinois horsemen's group announced this weekend.

Block defeated incumbent Mike Campbell, another longtime Illinois trainer, with 62 percent of the vote, which was completed Dec. 1 and was tabulated on Dec. 10. Campbell has been ITHA president since 2008, during which Block held a seat on the ITHA board.

Block’s family breeds and races as Team Block, which has been a preeminent Illinois racing and breeding operation for decades. Block begins his term Jan. 1.

Tom Swearingen retained his seat on the board as a trainer representative, but Manny Perez lost his seat, with trainers Patti Miller and Tony Mitchell set to become board members Jan. 1. Owners Tom Fedro and Steve Holland faced no opposition in their bid to retain board seats as owner representatives.

The ITHA leadership and members are in perilous times. Arlington International’s parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., has reached a purse agreement with the Chicago Bears to sell the huge parcel on which the track sits. Even if that deal is not consummated, there will be no racing at Arlington in 2022 or, as things stand, ever again.

Hawthorne, currently struggling through a horse-poor fall-winter meeting, is the only racetrack left in northern Illinois and will host both Thoroughbred and Standardbred seasons during 2022. After a race meeting in late winter and spring, Thoroughbred stables must find another venue at which to race and train during Hawthorne’s summer Standardbred meet next year.

Hawthorne more than a year ago began working to turn its racecourse into a racino, having been conditionally approved for slot-machine installation by the Illinois Gaming Board, but that construction project went dormant last winter while track ownership solidified financing.