On Oct. 16, 1927, jockey Joe Bollero rode Luxembourg to victory in the first race ever contested at Arlington Park. On Sept. 25, 2021, Constantino Roman rode Sister Ruler to what almost certainly will be the last.
Arlington, now known as Arlington International Racecourse, did not apply for racing dates for 2022. Just two days before this season's final program, the Illinois Racing Board approved next year's schedule without the northwest suburban Chicago track—the first of three acts in a tragic drama that could be called "The Death of Arlington".
The curtain fell on Act 2 as the last race of 2021, a turf sprint, went into the record books on a picture-perfect autumn day in the northwest Chicago suburbs.
All that remains is Act 3, which will be played out as owner Churchill Downs Inc. finalizes an auction for the property that has hosted a who's who of American racing. CDI is intent on selling the track for development and is unlikely to sell to anyone interested in continued racing there. More likely, the architecturally heralded grandstand with its iconic cantilevered roof has a date with the wrecking ball.
The mood was both celebratory and funereal on the final day. It also was a bit anticlimactic as it had been obvious since the opening day of the meeting in April that this was to be "The Final Turn"—CDI's own slogan to market its decision to pull the plug.
Her Majesty the Queen's purple silks, a reminder of the track's glory days, were gone before the season started. Also gone was a massive photo of the grandstand destroyed by a 1985 fire, proudly emblazoned with the caption, "Quit? Hell no!"
Arlington did not quit after the fire but pulled itself up by its bootstraps to stage the Arlington Million (G1T) program just three weeks later with tents and bleachers. But by 2021, "Quit" had, in fact, finally won, just six years before what would have been a centennial celebration.
CDI has been vilified by horsemen, fans, and even regulators since it became clear in 2019 its commitment to Arlington was at an end. The company's decision that summer not to apply for a newly authorized casino license dashed expectations that new millions of dollars would be pouring into purse accounts and Illinois breeding and racing were on their way back to glory.
The furious reaction to CDI's decision was amplified by the belief it was taken to protect the company's majority interest in Rivers Casino, less than 15 miles from the track, and by the arrogant and tone-deaf announcement itself.
A few hours before the final racing program kicked off, Arlington sent an unsigned e-mail to its distribution list, titled, "A Fond Farewell".
"Don't be sad it's over. Be glad it happened," the message spun the track's impending demise.
Many fans in the Arlington stands saw the bright side of that message. Others, including Wisconsin resident and long-time fan Harood Mesdjian, realized those two exhortations are not mutually exclusive.
"This is a terrible thing to happen," said Mesdjian, who was at the track to attend his son's bachelor party. "We've been coming here for 30 years. Now what? Now what?"
Nikki Profke, from Carol Stream, Ill., attended the final day with her husband and sons, Nicholas, 6, and Anthony, 3. Asked if they liked being at the track, Nicholas said through a mouthful of popcorn, "I like horses with Number 10." Anthony followed with, "I like Number 9."
But will the Profke family be going to the races next year, when Hawthorne Race Course in the southwest suburbs is the only game in town?
"Probably not," mom said.
Dan Knight said he lives close enough to Arlington to walk to the races and for decades has liked the fact he could hear the roar of the crowd from his yard. He attended over the years "as much as I can," he said.
Asked who might be held accountable for the likely demise of the track, Knight declined to name CDI or local track officials.
"The fact is, for quite a few years now, I haven't been able to hear a crowd roaring from my house. People just haven't been coming out to the races," Knight said.
There were a few interesting footnotes from the final race. The favorite, Juju's Specialgirl, finished third and was claimed for $20,000. And bearing in mind that Luxembourg won the first-ever race at Arlington, some 10 hours before the curtain came down on racing there, another horse named Luxembourg ran to an impressive victory in the Alan Smurfit Memorial Beresford Stakes (G2) in Ireland, leaping into the ranks of hot prospects for the 2022 Cazoo Derby at Epsom Downs.
Perhaps the Luxembourg coincidence is an omen for the few dreamers who still hope CDI will, at the last minute, relent and sell Arlington to a group, including horsemen, that could resume racing there.
Among them is Illinois Racing Board Commissioner Alan Henry, a former Chicago Sun-Times editor and longtime Arlington box holder.
"Honor your roots. Protect your brand," Henry exhorted CDI during the "commissioner comments" period at the Sept. 25 meeting after the board granted the entire 2022 Chicago-area racing schedule to Hawthorne.
"Rescue the Illinois racing industry and the thousands they employ by passing the torch to a worthy steward who will work toward a renewal of racing at Arlington Park in 2023. And by doing that, regain some measure of respect within the horse racing universe.
"It's not too late to make it right. Save this racetrack."
