The Illinois Racing Board approved an unprecedented blended Chicago summer harness schedule but a heated disagreement between IRB Chairman Lorna Propes and board member John Simon prefaced the awarding of next year’s thoroughbred dates after hearings Tuesday.
The harness schedule from June 5-Aug. 27 calls for Hawthorne Race Course, Balmoral Park and Maywood Park to divide the racing week.
Hawthorne, which this year raced every night from July 15-Sept. 7, will race every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from June 5-Aug. 26. Balmoral will race Tuesdays and Saturdays and Maywood will race Thursdays.
The friction between Propes and Simon arose over the awarding of out-of-state simulcast revenue during the winter period when there is no local thoroughbred racing.
This year all of the money from this period in January and February went to Arlington Park to bolster its purse account. In proposing her schedule, Propes sought to continue the status quo. But her motion was voted down 6-5.
Simon then asked for the adoption of a schedule that divided the revenue among Arlington, Hawthorne and the National Jockey Club, which races at Hawthorne, and his motion was approved 6-5.
“You have no idea the economic impact of what you’re doing,” Propes told Simon after he made his motion.”Now, let’s see what we’re going to do to the purse account of our flagship racetrack–we’re taking $2.4 million out of the Arlington purse account.
“It’s an outrage.”
Simon argued the winter simulcast revenue had been given to Arlington so it could raise purses but pointed out purses went down $10,000 per day before being increased significantly during the track’s International Festival of Racing.
Arlington’s season will open May 13 and run through Sept. 18. The National Jockey Club meeting at Hawthorne opens the 2005 season, starting Feb. 13.
2005 Illinois horse racing dates
Thoroughbred
*Hawthorne Race Course
Feb. 13-May 10–54 programs
Fairmount Park
(Downstate Collinsville)
March 25-Nov. 26–142 programs
Arlington Park
May 13-Sept. 18–94 programs
Hawthorne Race Course
Sept. 23-Dec. 31–114 programs
*–National Jockey Club meeting
Harness
Balmoral Park
Jan. 1-Dec. 31–181 programs
Will race Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from Jan. 1-June 4 and from Aug. 28-Dec. 31 and Tuesday and Saturday from June 7-Aug. 27.
Maywood Park
Jan. 3-Dec. 30–132 programs
Will race Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Jan. 3-June 3 and Aug. 29-Dec. 30 and Thursday only from June 9-Aug. 25.
Hawthorne Race Course
June 5-Aug. 26–48 programs
Will race Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from June 5-Aug. 26.
