Gabriel takes Dubai post

CHICAGO - Frank Gabriel, the longtime Arlington Park racing executive, has taken a job with the Dubai Racing Club and will vacate his position as Arlington's vice president of racing and racing secretary early next month.

Gabriel's Arlington tenure began in 1990 after he left his position as director of racing at Atlantic City Race Course. His domain at Arlington expanded over time, and Gabriel eventually was responsible for management of the Arlington facility as much as the racing here, and was instrumental in bringing off the Breeders' Cup that Arlington hosted in 2002. During the last two years, Gabriel wound up spending more time in the racing office with the never-ending project of putting together competitive races populated by decent-sized fields.

Gabriel has been active in national and international racing bodies, and currently is associated with the Graded Stakes Committee, the North American Ratings Committee, the Breeders' Cup Selection Committee, and a subcommittee of the International Federation of Horse Racing Authority.

Arlington's racing office will function without a racing secretary for the remainder of this meet, which ends Sept. 18. There has of yet been no mention of possible replacements.

"I don't know the timing of that," said Arlington's president, Cliff Goodrich. "We'll conduct a search and find the best person possible. Frank's a good man, and he's going to be missed."