Arlington Cuts Overnight, Stakes Purses

Arlington International Racecourse has cut overnight purses by 10% and trimmed the purses of most of its few remaining graded stakes.

The cuts come in response to an Illinois Racing Board vote denying Arlington's request to reduce the number of races on some days.

Overnight purses drop from about $127,000 a day to about $115,000. At the IRB hearing June 23, Arlington general manager Tony Petrillo said a 20% cut, suggested by horsemen, would leave Arlington paying less on a daily basis than most tracks in surrounding states in which purses are supplemented by gaming revenue.

Three of the four graded stakes on the Aug. 15 International Festival of Racing card took reductions. The Secretariat Stakes (gr. IT) for 3-year-olds was cut from $500,000 to $450,000, the Beverly D. (gr. IT) for fillies and mares was trimmed from $750,000 to $700,000, and the American St. Leger (gr. IIIT), goes from $400,000 to $350,000. The Arlington Million (gr. IT), for obvious reasons, was not cut.

In addition, three stakes on “Million Preview Day,” July 11: the American Derby (gr. IIIT), the Arlington Handcap (gr. IIIT), and the Modesty Handicap (gr. IIIT), all were trimmed from $150,000 to $100,000.

Petrillo said Arlington chose to limit the cut in overnight purses to 10% and trim stakes purses because the track is "trying to put on the best race card we can,” on a daily basis. “It's up to the horsemen to show that field sizes are going to hold steady or grow,” he said.

The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association adamantly opposed the plan to drop below eight races on any live card and volunteered to take a purse cut of as much as 20% as an alternative.

“Trainers will not leave, even with a 25% purse cut,” ITHA executive director Glen Berman told the IRB.

Petrillo said the decision to hold the cut to 10% and reduce stakes purses—which the ITHA argues are an undue drain on the purse account —represent “a show of good faith.”

Arlington said it faced an overpayment of $1.4 million because of many factors, including a sharp drop in handle and a shortage of horses. Petrillo said the purse cuts will account for about $1.1 million of that amount. He said the track still hopes that resolution of a state budget stalemate in Springfield will free about $300,000 in state-bred purse supplements to make up the difference.