Jim O'Donnell: Frank Calabrese is still dreaming big - just not on low-budget 'Million Day'

ARLINGTON PARK'S GREATEST CHAMPION of the new millennium may be at the track for its probable last hurrah on Saturday.

And then again, maybe Frank Calabrese won't be.

His Big Dreaming is entered in the $600,000 Mr. D. Stakes, the underfunded centerpiece that is substituting for the Arlington Million during this funereal season.

But the 4-year-old son of his beloved Dreaming of Anna drew Post 10 in the 10-horse field.

And Chad Brown's formidable Domestic Spending - the best older turf horse in the land - is headed in from New York to suck the life out of the race's mutuel pool.

So Calabrese is hedging.

That is, hedging with as much conviction as any very focused self-made 93-year-old multimillionaire can.

"We're far outside, the big horse should romp and there's three others inside of us who should show speed," the Park Ridge tycoon said.

"We've also got a million-dollar race down at Kentucky Downs next month where we have a better shot. So why waste a race?"

But trainer Wayne Catalano and stable adviser Steve Leving thought Calabrese would want to participate in the day of empty-easel charades Churchill Downs Inc. is trying to pass off as the last "Million Day."

You know - for old times sake, if nothing else.

"(Forget about) sentiment," Calabrese said. "I want to win races, especially with Anna's last runner. And as far as setting foot inside Arlington Park ever again, what do I care?

"I love 'Mr. D' (Dick Duchossois). But I left there eight years ago when management got too stupid.

"Why do I want to go back now?"

FOR THE FIRST 11 YEARS of the 21st century, the idea of any big day at Arlington without Calabrese was as unthinkable as a Sinatra retrospective without "New York, New York."

He shared the owners championship in 2000, the year AP reopened after a two-year shutdown.

Then - with Catalano and Leving providing brilliance, sweat and cheers - Calabrese breezed through 10 consecutive solo owners titles.

No one had ever done it before. It is 2X Powerball-to-1 that anyone will do it again.

"Frank," said Leving, "has always been a great owner."

"He is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it comes to winning horse races," said Rene Douglas, the seven-time Arlington jockeys champ who was crippled in a horrible on track accident in 2009.

"Me and Frank, he's like a second father to me, like (George) Steinbrenner was to Billy Martin," Catalano joked.

Calabrese's collective response?

"Steve has one of the smartest brains I've ever known but he doesn't know when to shut up. Ask him what time it is and he tells you how they made the watch. Rene was a great rider who doesn't know what he's talking about. And Catalano would charge you for a screw."

The "team" championship camaraderie remains overwhelming.

TEAMSMANSHIP HAS NEVER been a central part of Calabrese thought.

"My mother told me, 'Frankie, if you don't make your first million by (age) 30, you never will,'" the native of Chicago's Little Italy - Polk and Carpenter - said.

"She said it's all downhill for men after that. So I made my first million by 30."

The Calabrese millions arced toward crescendo when he opened FCL Graphics in Harwood Heights in 1975. Specializing in direct mail and newspaper advertising supplements, he and sons Frank, Carmen and Lewis sold the business for a reported $80 million in 2004.

"Basically, I was an independent broker who worked hard," Calabrese said. "We also sold at the right time."

An inveterate racetracker, he started small as an owner, exclusively in Chicago harness racing. Then Dave Feldman - the memorable Chicago turf writer - convinced him to buy a thoroughbred in 1992.

"I loved going to the racetrack to relax," Calabrese said. "Since Feldman got me over to thoroughbreds, I bet I've invested around $30 million in the game, had horses win about as much but never made a buck as an owner.

"Expenses eat you up."

His greatest moments came with Dreaming of Anna.

Named for his late sister - Mrs. Anna Anderson, who died of cancer at age 48 - "Anna" won the Breeders Cup Juveniles Fillies under Douglas in 2006.

"Her hair was like my sister's. So was her athleticism. "Anna" gave me my dream moments in the game."

She died at age 13 in 2018. But not before producing her youngest - Big Dreaming.

CALABRESE LONG HAS BEEN gruff, soft, giving and highly opinionated.

On his most underspoken day, he makes Charles Barkley seem reticent.

He detests current Arlington management but has never had a cross word with Duchossois.

And he thinks CDI CEO Bill Carstanjen is one of the brightest executives he has ever been around.

"Mr. D told me to invest in Churchill a few months before the (2000) merger. That money has since doubled, tripled, doubled and tripled again.

"Almost all of that is because of Carstanjen. I first heard him speak about 14 years ago, right after CDI hired him. I came away thinking, 'This is an extremely smart young man who is going to make things happen.'"

Calabrese remains a staunch "Carstanjen guy" - even as the Louisville-based point man continues to move forward on the end of what used to be FCC's playground.

"What Carstanjen is doing is just good business. Horse racing is dead, especially in Illinois. The horsemen have themselves to blame as much as anyone else. Too many of them were constantly looking for the gravy train, the easy horse, the stupid owner.

"Casinos are what's happening for younger guys now. They want to play Texas Hold 'em. And dice don't need hay and oats. Blackjack cards don't negotiate contracts.

"Last week, I hit one machine for $40,000 and later that day, another for $15,000. That's more than I'm going to make on Million Day at Arlington this week."

Especially since it seems last hurrahs - and Big Dreaming - can wait.

• Jim O'Donnell's Sports & Media column appears Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com.