Jim O'Donnell: Churchill Inc. moving Arlington Million from Kentucky to Virginia - but why?
BEFORE THE MAIN BUILDING at Arlington Park is taken down, Bunker Bill Carstanjen and cohorts at Churchill Downs Inc. may want to sift through all of the cinders on the main track.
There's always a chance that Earlie Fires or some other jockey may have accidentally lost loose change while spinning out of a turn.
In the interim, plundering rules as the formerly regal oval tilts toward the scrap heap.
But like ravenous "Pawn Stars," Carstanjen and crew continue to salvage valuables.
THE CDI CEO CONFIRMED that the Arlington Million, the Beverly D. and the recast Secretariat Stakes will be run at the corporation's Colonial Downs in Virginia next summer.
The 2022 Million and the Bev D. were staged on a problem-prone turf course at Churchill Downs in August. Even those tawdry exhibitions enabled both to retain their Grade I statuses - afforded only to the top-ranked races in the game.
The Secretariat - an AP staple since 1974 - was last contested on the home turf in 2021 as "The Bruce D." That renaming was to honor the late Bruce Duchossois, the youngest son of track czar Dick Duchossois, who died at age 100 in January.
Bruce Duchossois, 64, died of cancer in 2014.
Now, family legacy be damned. Strategic goodwill and the profitability of CDI apparently must trump all.
THE NEW SECRETARIAT has been downgraded to a Grade II. The name itself is of keen importance in the state of Virginia, the foaling ground of "Big Red" back in 1970.
Colonial - which boasts an impressive grass course - has plans to make the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's Triple Crown a prime clarion of its late-summer meet.
CDI already has a "Rosie's Gaming Emporium," featuring electronic terminals and a sport book, on site. Rush Street Gaming - Churchill's minority partner in the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines - is opening another major den of chance in Portsmouth, Va., on Jan. 15.
A CRITICAL UNANSWERED QUESTION: Why is CDI maintaining the three Arlington-legacied turf classics?
An engaging theory is that if the Bears fail to close on the 326 acres of Arlington in 2023, among the many options on Carstanjen's desk will be CDI participation in a compact, techno-friendly "racino" somewhere in northern Illinois.
It's unlikely that the new track would be on the AP land. Such a maneuver would also likely be predicated on CDI cashing out its interest the Des Plaines moneymaker once the Chicago casino reaches critical loft.
But wherever Carstanjen and associates deign to place their little track, they would have three instant recalls of grand local racing past to plug in and provide immediate thoroughbred credibility.
LONGSHOT?
For sure.
But in a game of "Password," Bunker Bill's most diligent monitors would concede that a word appropriately assigned to his profit instincts is "nimble."
Even Fires might want to invest some loose change.
STREET-BEATIN':
The ESPN/ABC monolith presents five NBA games on Christmas Day, which some would suggest is at least four too many. Last year's quintet tanked in the ratings. As Stan Van Gundy once said: "I actually feel sorry for people who have nothing else to do on Christmas Day but watch an NBA game." ...
For deepest students of The Ghost of Michael Jordan Past, His Royal & Ancient Airness was 5-1 in Christmas Day contests. He lost his inaugural in 1986 on CBS to Patrick Ewing and the Knicks when fellow Bulls starters included John Paxson, Charles Oakley, Earl Cureton and the inimitable Granville Waiters. (Head coach Doug Collins choked on syntax after that rough Garden ending.) ...
Tickets on the secondary market for the Bears-Bills Saturday matinee were dipping to $10 as kickoff approached. It was so cold that Chicago police reported an exhibitionist in the South Loop was only describing himself. (Bada-boom ... thank you, holiday vault of Johnny Carson.) ...
Progressive daily double for ESPN Tuesday: Tiffany Greene works play-by-play on the Birmingham Bowl (Coastal Carolina-East Carolina) followed by Beth Mowins calling the Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Wisconsin-Oklahoma State). ...
In a recent column at substack.com, a puckish Jay Mariotti named himself "National Sports Columnist of 2022." Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports and Nancy Armour of USA Today completed the Jay-fecta. CBS analyst Gene Steratore is reportedly still looking at contest rules. ...
And Mike Lapons, on Justin Fields being snubbed for the Pro Bowl: "Finally something goes right for the kid."
• Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears Sunday and Thursday Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.