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Will Arlington Park Be Open in a Year?

Churchill Downs Inc. (CHDN) conducted its annual meeting yesterday and the most interesting bit of news to come out of the meeting was not the resignation of Susan Packard as a director.  Nor was it anything that was actually discussed during the meeting itself.  No, the real news of the meeting came in an interview that CEO Bob Evans gave to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

During the interview he once again stressed the importance of slot machines and other forms of casino style gaming not only to the company in general (race track revenue accounted for 53% of gross profit last year down from 88% in 2006) but to the health of individual tracks.  Churchill Downs and Arlington Park are the only two tracks in Churchill Downs' portfolio that do not now have some form of casino style gaming to help support the track operations.

Without a dramatic change in the atmosphere and composition of the Kentucky General Assembly, specifically the State Senate, it is unlikely that Churchill Downs will see that help anytime soon.  However, it does have the Kentucky Derby and Oaks for support and while that's not a complete panacea, it does help enough to keep the track operating.

Arlington Park, however, is in a much different situation.  With no casino style gaming, and the prospects for getting that approved not very high at the moment, the chance of Arlington closing by next summer is very high.  Arlington was actually closed in 1998-99 due to insufficient revenue, but reopened following its purchase by Churchill Downs in 2000.  Unless Arlington gains approval for casino style gaming or some other form of support, Evans intimated that it would be closed.  Given its prior shutdown and the Illinois legislature's continued refusal to approve casino style gaming at race tracks, the future of Arlington looks bleak indeed.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on June 18, 2010 (boomark / email).