Illinois Racing Board tables decision on whether to permit Churchill Downs Inc. to operate OTBs

CHICAGO -- The Illinois Racing Board has deferred deciding whether to permit Churchill Downs Inc. to continue operating six off-track betting parlors in 2022 despite the cessation of racing at the company’s Illinois racetrack, Arlington International Racecourse.

Arlington, which has nine OTBs in its network, requested to continue operations at its Trackside location on the Arlington property as well as at parlors in Chicago, Hodgkins, Green Oaks, Rockford, and Villa Park. The board took up the matter at a regular monthly meeting Thursday, but eventually voted unanimously to settle the matter during a regularly scheduled Dec. 16 meeting. The board said it would benefit from more time to study the ramifications of a decision and has scheduled further hearings during December.

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CDI declined to apply for 2022 Arlington racing dates and has entered into a purchase agreement with the Chicago Bears for the 325-acre parcel on which the Arlington grandstand, racetrack, and stables sit. CDI contends that Illinois racing law permits a racetrack operator to maintain OTB operations if it conducted live racing the previous year, but the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and Hawthorne Racecourse read the statute as requiring an OTB applicant to conduct live racing during the calendar year the OTB application covers.

The language in the law is somewhat ambiguous, but IRB staff recommended board members approve Arlington’s application. If the horsemen’s and Hawthorne’s reading is correct, that would be prohibited, and even if it’s not, the board is under no obligation to permit CDI to keep its OTBs. There’s some hostility on the board toward CDI, though not as much as one might imagine regarding a company that shuttered the flagship racetrack of the sport the board is tasked to regulate and help prosper.

Hawthorne already plans to take over several of Arlington’s OTBs, but a state-mandated limit of 16 parlors per racetrack operator means it can’t operate all the OTBs in Arlington’s network. Hawthorne president Tim Carey said Thursday that should the board deny Arlington’s request, Hawthorne in December would begin the process of seeking to raise that cap through a change in state law.

Arlington’s shuttering also means CDI can’t operate its TwinSpires account-wagering platform in Illinois during 2022, since racing law requires an ADW to partner with a bricks-and-mortar track operator. CDI is attempting to form a partnership with FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing (known until this year as Fairmount Park), but the Fairmount chapter of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association has decided to withhold consent, required to seal any deal, on the partnership. Hearings regarding this question also are scheduled for December and the matter will be taken up at the Dec. 16 IRB meeting.