Chicago stalwarts Rivelli, Block headed to Colonial for summer

CHICAGO - Larry Rivelli, perennially the leading trainer at shuttered Arlington Park, and Chris Block, who long has trained one of the leading strings in Illinois, plan to stable at Colonial Downs in Virginia this summer after Thoroughbred racing in Chicago goes on hiatus between late June and late September.

Rivelli, Block, and every other horseman in Chicago faces the question of what to do with their horses when the Hawthorne spring meet ends June 25. Hawthorne hosts a summer harness meeting before resuming Thoroughbred racing on Sept. 23.

Colonial’s nine-week meeting begins July 11. A recent press release from the track said Colonial plans to pay $600,000 in daily purses.

Rivelli said he plans to send 80 horses to Colonial on June 30 with plans to stay the entire meet. “Our help is going – we couldn’t do it if they weren’t. It is a pain but the money there is good.”

Block hopes to send 35 horses to Colonial. “The condition book looks pretty good; it fits all categories with lots of turf. It’s not easy. The biggest thing is making sure we have enough employees headed that way, because it’s remote and hard to find help there,” he said.

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Jareth Loveberry, leading rider at Arlington last summer and leading rider at Hawthorne this spring, also plans to move his tack to Colonial, in great part because Rivelli, his most important client, and Block are stabling there.

Block, president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, said he wants to talk about future Chicago racing schedules with the local harness groups and Hawthorne. With Arlington out of the picture this summer for the first time since 2000, the ITHA membership is scrambling to find a place to stable and race during the heart of the summer racing season.

“We need to lessen the length of this break and I’d like to get some more dates for our guys,” Block said.