The Pizza Man to Parade Sept. 16 at Arlington

The Pizza Man, winner of the 2015 Arlington Million Stakes XXXIII (G1T), will say his final farewell to Chicagoland racing fans Sept. 16 at Arlington International Racecourse.

A Midwest Thoroughbreds' homebred, The Pizza Man retired after his third run in the Million Aug. 12. He will parade in front of fans between races in a ceremony paying tribute to the nationally popular racehorse.

"This horse gave us thrills that we could only have dreamed about. He gave us everything he had and having him return to the scene of his—and our—greatest win is only fitting," said Richard Papiese of Midwest Thoroughbreds. "It will be a great day and an emotional one as well, and we are thankful that the Arlington team is honoring The Pizza Man."

The Pizza Man won five graded stakes in his career, including the 2015 Million and the 2016 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes Presented by HPIBet (G1T) at Woodbine. A 17-time winner from 36 career starts, the 8-year-old English Channel  gelding retires as the richest Illinois-bred in history with career earnings of $2,158,941 with more than $1.2 million of those dollars earned in 10 wins on the Arlington turf course.

"We are thrilled that the Papiese family (Midwest) and trainer Roger Brueggemann have allowed us to celebrate the career of this great horse with his many fans," said Arlington general manager Tony Petrillo. "We have quite a program that is being developed at this time, and he certainly deserves it."