Arlington Million VIII will be staged in Toronto at Woodbine on Aug. 20, the same Saturday afternoon another of Chicago`s richest and most prestigious thoroughbred races, the Budweiser-Hawthorne Gold Cup, is scheduled to be run for the 52d time at Hawthorne.
Both are 1 1/4-mile races for 3-year-olds and up. The Gold Cup is on the dirt, while the Million is on the grass.
Both will be clamoring and competing for extensive newspaper, television and radio coverage in Chicago. The Million will be televised nationally by ABC as part of a double-header on its ”Wide World of Sports” program with another million-dollar race, the Travers from Saratoga, The Tribune has learned.
The Gold Cup also will be televised nationally, but via cable network ESPN.
Neither Arlington Park owner Dick Duchossois nor Hawthorne President Tom Carey was aware of the conflict when their respective showcase races were scheduled.
In both cases, TV was the determining factor in the date.
”I set mine because of the `Budweiser Racing Across America` series on ESPN,” Carey said Thursday. ”That day looked like the best day to get the best horses, and we want to be on TV.
”I presumed they would run the Million at the same time it was normally scheduled at Arlington Park, the Sunday before Labor Day.”
Duchossois said that was the date he sought, but the Million was ”locked in” on Aug. 20 because it was the only day that fit into the diverse schedules of the U.S., Canadian and overseas TV networks.
Duchossois, who transferred the international race to Woodbine because of Arlington Park`s year-long rebuilding project, refused to confirm that ABC would telecast his race for the second year in a row but did say an announcement from a major network is forthcoming.
”We have the world rights,” he said. ”Scheduling the Million on the 27th or 28th (of August) would have put us in conflict with longstanding commitments by the (U.S.) networks.
”The Canadian Open golf tournament is being held in Toronto from Sept. 1-4. It`s one of the biggest sports events in the country. Not only would there have been a conflict with Canadian network programming, there also would have been a crunch for hotel rooms in Toronto.
”On Sept. 11, Woodbine has its own million dollar race (the inaugural running of the Molson Export Challenge). We can`t detract from that. August 20 is the only day that works. We were aware that the (million dollar) Travers is being held the same day. But with simulcasts, maybe we can make this into a mini-Breeders` Cup.
”If Tom also is running his race that same day back in Chicago, I wish him nothing but the best.”
Carey is exploring his options. Unlike Duchossois, he may not be ”locked in” on ESPN.
The Budweiser Racing Across America series of 30 races has nothing scheduled for Aug. 6, Aug. 27, Sept. 3 and Sept. 10. It also deviates from its Saturday format to hold Sunday races on Sept. 18 and Sept. 25. In the past, the ESPN schedule has been revised during the course of the year.
”If we go with the Gold Cup on the same day as the Million, I`d probably take the simulcast of it and the Travers and make it one heck of a day of racing,” said Carey.
”On the other hand, if I could move the Gold Cup to another day and substitute another stakes to go with the simulcasts, I might be able to give the people of Chicago two great days of racing. I`ve got to consider that.
”I`m going to get in touch with the Racing Across America people and see how far they`ve gone on this. I`m re-thinking everything I`ve done.”
Carey also is contacting representatives of Budweiser to explore the possibility of upping the sponsorship ante to make the Gold Cup a million dollar event now that Arlington has announced it will run this year`s Million on its own.
Last year`s Gold Cup was worth $462,400, making it second only to the Million and the $793,600 Kentucky Derby on the list of the Midwest`s richest races.
It was reported in November that Budweiser would not be sponsoring the Million at Woodbine and that Duchossois would be picking up the entire purse. But Duchossois then took issue, saying: ”We have a contract. We have not worked out the details, but that`s not unusual. It`s still the Budweiser-Arlington Million.”
However, Thursday he said: ”It`s the Arlington Million,” confirming that the sponsorship ties have been severed, at least for this year.
”I don`t want anyone to think for a moment that we dropped them or they dropped us,” said Duchossois. ”It just wasn`t a compatible situation for either of us.
”I fully understand why Budweiser doesn`t want to go out of the country
(in sponsoring the race). But sponsorship will not govern where we locate our race. In moving the Million to Woodbine, we did what we felt was best for the race and for the entire racing industry in North America.
”Budweiser has many, many other races that it sponsors, but we feel our race has a unique identity. There`s no other race in the world like it because our field is made up of nominees and determined by an international panel of handicappers. Arlington Park has absolutely no control over the selection process.
”If we wanted, we could get another sponsor quite easily. That`s not our intention. Our relationship with Budweiser was a very fine one, and I would hope they say the same about us.”
Duchossois also said that he has decided against relocating two of Arlington`s other major races, the Grade I Futurity and the Grade I Lassie, and won`t hold them this year. ”Both of those races are for 2-year-olds,” he said. ”We have looked into all things, and realizing that their rightful place is in August or September, feel that stability and continuity are extremely important. Trying to relocate the Futurity and Lassie at that time of year would disrupt stakes schedules at other tracks.
”It also would detract from what always has been our No. 1 priority-having Arlington Park ready to resume racing in 1989.”
