Opening day at Arlington Park kick’s off tomorrow, Thursday with racing at 1:00 p.m. and gates opening at 1:15 a.m. The season opener begins a long weekend that includes Saturday’s Kentucky Derby when Arlington Park will host the largest Derby Party in the Chicago area. Betting for the Kentucky Derby will be available at Arlington Park on Saturday. When the historic Chicago area track opens its 2010 Thoroughbred meet on April 29, it will become the fifth track in North America to offer a high-definition simulcast signal to on-track and simulcast patrons. Thursday’s weather forecast looks perfect: Partly cloudy, breezy with a high of 75°F.
The racetrack has a new $1 million video system, with robotic cameras and 100 high-definition televisions. All cameras area also high-definition cameras.
The new Longshots Sports Bar is a casual sports bar. The menu features sandwiches and burgers, ranging in price from $9-$12. A full bar is available with drinks ranging in price from $5-$8. Plenty of TV monitors are on display to follow other sports in addition to racing, which are also great for following the Cubs and White Sox after the races are over.
In addition to arlingtonpark.com, a new interactive website is unveiled that will offer greater insight to events and to the social media side of Arlington Park — arlingtonparklive.com. A new YouTube channel with tote board instructions and a Horseracing 101 video has been added to an existing facebook account and a new twitter account — twitter.com/ap_live.
Self-Service Wagering Tips from Arlington Park Entertainment Reporter Alyssa Ali.
The Arlington Park season will feature a 27-event stakes schedule with purses in excess of $5 million highlighted by the International Festival of Racing on Saturday, Aug. 21 featuring three Grade I turf races – the Arlington Million, the $750,000 Beverly D. and the $400,000 Secretariat Stakes.
Arlington Park will run a 91-day meet in 2010 from Thursday, April 29 through Sunday, Sept. 26. The horseracing track will have live racing Thursdays through Sunday, and the following Mondays: May 31, July 5 and Sept. 6. Arlington Park has six special dates scheduled for the season:
Kentucky Derby, May 1
Preakness Stakes, May 15
Belmont Stakes, June 5
Prairie State fest, June 19
Fiesta in the Park, July 11
Arlington Million, Beverly D and Secretariat races, Aug. 21
Post times are 1 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, 3 p.m. Fridays (2 p.m. Fridays in September). Saturday posts vary from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. except for 4 p.m. post on July 3.
Lookin At Lucky is the early 3-1 favorite for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby and will start from the No.1 post position, while filly Devil May Care will break from No.11. Trainers and owners discussed their horses following Wednesday’s draw.
Arlington Park, whose parent company is Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN), also operates 10 off-track, simulcast-wagering facilities: Trackside Arlington Park (Arlington Heights), Trackside Chicago, Trackside Quad City Downs (East Moline), Trackside Waukegan, Shooters Bar & Grill at Don Carter Lanes featuring Trackside Rockford, Fat Sam’s Bar & Grill featuring Trackside OTB in Lockport, Lucky’s featuring Trackside OTB in South Elgin, Nicolino’s featuring Trackside OTB in McHenry, Tad’s Sports Bar & Grill featuring Trackside OTB in South Beloit and Salerno-Pincente Ristorante featuring Trackside OTB in Hodgkins.