Editorial: The glory that was Arlington Park

First in a series

Last March, shortly after Churchill Downs announced that it was putting Arlington Park on the market, columnist Burt Constable reached out to Richard Duchossois, the venerable patriarch of the track.

"I never visualized it being gone," said Duchossois, who has since that interview celebrated his 100th birthday.

Those of us who have lived for any amount of time in the suburbs would share that illusion. The track, and with it some of horse racing's greatest events, always has been in our back yard - a bit weathered perhaps before the famous fire that engulfed it in 1985, inspiring when the ruins nonetheless hosted the Arlington Million with tents and temporary grandstands 25 days later, and in magnificent splendor since Duchossois reopened the racecourse in 1989.

Change, of course, is the only true constant in this temporal world. What once were landmarks eventually give way. As Duchossois had added in describing the racetrack's impact on Arlington Heights, "It's almost like a statue in the village. But on the other hand, statues get knocked down, too."

Since that conversation he had with Constable, Arlington Park has held its well-marketed "The Final Season" and the implication is that horse racing in Arlington Heights is now confined to the history books.

We, like most in the community and in the suburbs, are excited about the prospects of the Chicago Bears venturing out from the city to re-imagine what that 326-acre parcel will become.

It is not just football that the Bears would bring. It also is the arresting village that would be built around it. In many ways, it would remake the community.

Given the prominence of the NFL, It certainly would put Arlington Heights on the map in a way that even the highest quality racing could not. And it certainly would be the most indelible legacies of Mayor Tom Hayes' tenure and those of everyone else on the village board and in village hall who plays a role in making it happen.

Let us push to finalize this development - and to finalize it in a way that is best for everyone in the suburbs.

But in doing so, let's also venerate the 94-year-old track and celebrate its history, the contributions it made to the sport of kings and the contributions it made to the community.

Some hold out hope that horse racing can find a way to continue, at least for the time being, at Arlington Park, and it would be good if it can.

But even if not, that rich heritage needs to be honored and maintained. We hope that village officials insist, and that the new buyers ensure, that at the least, a lasting tribute to Arlington Park's past be incorporated into the development that replaces it.