Jim O’Donnell: Maryland joins New York in dancing over the dead wires of Arlington Park
LAST WEEKEND'S KENTUCKY DERBY could have had a 20-horse photo finish and it wouldn't have mattered around the empty acreage once known as Arlington Park.
The interstate sting and civic stench remain. Reminders of the corporate savaging by Churchill Downs Inc. are recharged every spring by the smarmy sun shining bright on CDI's compliant old Kentucky home.
The first half of May once was the most electric time of the year at Arlington. Opening Day on the first Friday of the month was followed in quick order by Derby Day. Then, a week later, Mother's Day, when landing a private box or dining reservation at AP became a seasonal work of art.
Now, nothing — crickets, pebbles and a Bear-bone creek. A stark, forlorn memento of bluegrass-based greed blindsiding one of the most rabid gambling markets in America.
THE SURREAL EXECUTION OF ARLINGTON PARK echoed again Thursday. That was when officials in Maryland announced that $400M in bonds would be made available to allow a new state-controlled nonprofit to demolish and then rebuild almost all parts of Pimlico racecourse.
Pimlico — on the northwestern edge of Baltimore — is home to the Preakness Stakes. Around the time Edgar Allan Poe was giving way to H.L. Mencken, it was also a quality racetrack. In the new millennium the oval has devolved into a dump. Preakness attendance has dipped from close to 180,000 to less than 70,000.
Still, the home state of the second leg of the Triple Crown races in to save the rickety facility.
A similar S-O-S is being answered in New York. That's where the next two renewals of the Belmont Stakes will be run at Saratoga — beginning next month — while the New York Racing Association spends $455M in “loaned” state money to take down and reconstruct “The Big Sandy.”
THE MODERN, FRESH BELMONT PARK is targeted to reopen in 2026. NYRA planners are hoping to host a resplendent Breeders Cup that autumn.
Other states find constructive racing solutions.
In Illinois — official indifference, destructive private gain and a throat-latched public still reeling from a nightmarish endgame at AP.
All the photo flimsiness from Arlington Heights to the capitol dome in Springfield apparently can't change that.
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A FINAL NOTE ON THE 150TH KENTUCKY DERBY: The failure of stewards to conduct an inquiry after the brutal stretch bullying by place horse Sierra Leone was outrageous.
It was also more reason to encourage the young and innocent to stay away from the four-footed carnie game.
“Leone” absolutely mugged Forever Young, forcing the Japanese invader to continually alter paths down the lane. With a clean stretch run, Forever Young likely would have caught tiring winner Mystik Dan. Instead, the colt finished third by a nose and a nose.
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in gimmick payoffs were affected by the non-call. The No. 1 responsibility of racetrack stewards — to protect the public — was blatantly disregarded.
Evidently on thoroughbred racing's biggest day, the top priority of those judges is to rush an “Official” sign up on the Churchill tote board. The most positive aspect of that is that it humanely helped end five hours of generally tedious programming by the frighteningly saccharine Mike Tirico and NBC Sports.
STREET-BEATIN':
Bears rookie WR Rome Odunze might have set a franchise record for quickest injury by a newcomer when he missed Saturday's apprentice workout with hamstring tightness. (That did little to amp down the startup glee of the burnt-orange fanboys.) …
That rampant media giddiness around Halas Hall also might have been tempered by a thoughtful piece in the Washington Post that suggested a QB drafted in the top 5 has only a 25% chance to emerge as “a franchise quarterback.” If that holds true, only one from the trio of Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels (Commanders) and Drake Maye (Patriots) will flourish. …
A Kansas judge set a trial date of June 10 for Terrence Shannon Jr., the former Illinois basketball star now under indictment for rape. Shannon is due to be among the 78 invitees at the NBA Draft Combine, which will begin Sunday at Wintrust Arena. Long shot Bronny James is also scheduled to showcase. A prospect with hot stock rising is Cam Christie of Minnesota, the former Rolling Meadows High flyer. …
Steve Tucker, once one of the foremost regional authorities on women's athletics, died Friday. He eventually followed the great Taylor Bell as high school sports editor at the Sun-Times. Said Bell: “No one knew more about girls sports than Steve. He knew everybody and everybody knew him, from Cheryl Miller and Pat Summitt on down, up, over and around.” …
Cheryl Raye-Stout of WBEZ-FM (91.5) was far ahead of the herd with her call that WNBA teams would finally opt for full charter flight service with the entrance of Caitlin Clark. The Rockford Peaches of Penny Marshall's “A League of Their Own” were lucky to get a working bus. …
“Caitlin Mania” will be taken higher Tuesday when the Iowa phenom and her Indiana Fever open their regular season at Connecticut (6:30 p.m., ESPN2 et al). Ryan Ruocco and Rebecca Lobo will call the cheers and squeaks. (They were excellent during the NCAA women's tournament. Without Lobo, Ruocco became an annoying chatter head during the first round of the NBA playoffs.) …
And Scott “Beamie” Hipple, on the recent upgrade of the White Sox from historically awful to merely bad: “They're ruining it for everybody.”
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.