Neil Milbert

Neil Milbert is a freelance writer who covered harness racing and other sports during his 40-year career with the Chicago Tribune.

Charles Bidwill Jr., left, their mother, Violet Bidwill Wolfner, center, and Billy Bidwill, all look happy at the new Chicago Cardinal setup, which makes Charles, 23, president; Mrs. Wolfner, chairman of the board of directors; and Billy, 19, vice president, circa July 1951. The reorganization followed the resignation of Ray Bennigsen. Charles, also known as Stormy, was the youngest president in the National Football League. His father and Violet's husband, Charles “Blue Shirt Charlie” Bidwill Sr., was one of the most loved sports executives. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

Stormy Bidwill, former Sportsman’s Park president and co-owner of NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals, dies at 97

November 7, 2025 at 4:20 p.m.

Starting in the 1960s and continuing through the mid-1990s, Stormy Bidwill’s profile as an influential sports owner was comparable to that of George Halas and Arthur and Bill Wirtz.

Mike Paradise in 2024. (courtesy of the Paradise family)

Mike Paradise, a pioneering publicist and handicapper on Chicago’s harness racing scene, dies at 83

August 4, 2025 at 5:18 p.m.

Harness racing was Mike Paradise's first love, and over a half-century, his name became synonymous with the sulky sport in Chicagoland.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas talks to media after arriving at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore with Preakness Stakes entrant American Promise on May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

‘Storybook life’ of accomplished horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas ends with his death at age 89

June 30, 2025 at 7:18 a.m.

D. Wayne Lukas, one of the most accomplished and influential trainers in the history of North American horse racing, has died.

Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart girls basketball coach Larry Farmer huddles with his team during a game against Rochelle Zell Jewish High School on Dec. 16, 2024, in Lake Forest. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Larry Farmer’s road less traveled, from a player for powerhouse UCLA to girls coach at tiny Woodlands Academy in Lake Forest

December 29, 2024 at 7:39 p.m.

Larry Farmer, 73, played for the greatest dynasty in college basketball history. Now he preaches the gospel of his iconic coach, John Wooden, to high school girls in Lake Forest.

Thoroughbred owner Frank Calabrese, far right, with longtime trainer Wayne Catalano in 2002 at Hawthorne Race Course. (Anthony Robert La Penna/for the Chicago Tribune)

Frank Calabrese, one of Chicago horse racing’s all-time greats and printing shop founder, dies at 96

November 21, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.

Frank Calabrese was one of Chicago racing’s all-time greats, a thoroughbred owner who tied for the lead in winners at Arlington International Racecourse in 2000. His 74 triumphs in 2007...

The drivers who competed in Hawthorne Race Course's 2021 inaugural Juneteenth race: (left to right) front row Freddie Patton Jr., Curtis Bradford, Archie Buford, Jamaal Denison and Cordarius Stewart; back row Cornelius Cavett, Hosea Williams, Jamaica Patton, trainer Peter Dora, Terry Skinner and Jordan Patton. (Four Footed Fotos)

How Illinois — ‘a racing family’ — stands apart from other states for Black trainers, drivers and owners

June 19, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.

The executive director of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association believes the Juneteenth holiday is the perfect time to celebrate the “huge contribution” that Black trainers, drivers and owners are making...

Demolition crews hired by the Bears begin knocking down the grandstand at the former Arlington International Racecourse on June 16, 2023, in Arlington Heights. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Column: Why I’m boycotting the Kentucky Derby — and why Chicago sports fans should too

May 2, 2024 at 3:11 p.m.

The rubble that remains at the former Arlington Park site is a monument to the greed of Churchill Downs Inc. and its disregard for horse racing in Chicago.

As the infield crowd rushed to the rail at the finish of the Arlington Invitational, Secretariat, foreground, is an easy winner over My Gallant, second from left, Our Native, left who was third, and Blue Chip Dan, right, who was last, on June 30, 1973, at Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights.

Reliving Triple Crown winner Secretariat’s victory at Arlington Park 50 years ago: ‘He responded magnificently’

March 12, 2024 at 12:01 p.m.

It's sadly ironic that coinciding with the demolition of Arlington Park this month is the 50th anniversary of a race at the track run by a thoroughbred many acclaim as...

Frank Amato at Loyola Academy. He was a former head track and assistant football coach, and during the next 46 years he became one of the state's most successful track coaches.

Frank Amato — an ‘institution’ at Loyola Academy athletics for 46 years — dies at 96

February 5, 2023 at 2:03 p.m.

Frank Amato came to Loyola Academy in 1966 to be the head track and assistant football coach, and during the next 46 years he became one of the state's most...

Public League ref "Sweet" Charlie Brown makes the scorers table add a few seconds to the clock during a game on Jan. 19, 2000.

‘Sweet’ Charlie Brown, an iconic member of the DuSable team that lost the 1954 state basketball title in controversial fashion, dies

August 28, 2022 at 9:56 p.m.

If statues honoring the former DuSable High School's most revered alumni were erected in front of 4900 S. Wabash Ave., "Sweet" Charlie Brown would be standing in bronze alongside Nat...

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