Arlington Park Racecourse in Arlignton Heights, Illinois is one of the most internationally acclaimed racecourses in all of America. The track is home to what used to be the grandest prize in all of horse racing: the Arlington Million, which will celebrate it’s 25th anniversary this year. Arlington Park racecourse came back after a fire burned down the entirety of the grandstand building, and remains to this day, one of the most visited racetracks in America.
It seems, however, that the glory days of Arlington Park lie well in the past.
Richard L. Duchossois, owner and operator of Arlington Park, along with the entire Arlington Park administrative team, have been going out of their way to make Arlignton Park racecourse a dump.
After a reported $10,000 renovation of the interior of the building and a move to Polytrack, a synthetic racing surface that makes racing safer for jockeys and horses alike, the world expected better of Duchossois and company this year. The new racing surface is certainly working out quite well, however the incredibly expensive renovation seemed to do almost nothing. No new betting terminals were installed, no painting was done, the scratched up tables and rickety picnic chairs remain, and there are no new televisions to be found inside or out.
In addition to this nonsense, Arlington has created a new admission center, where they have, once again, gone out of their way to overcomplicate the situation. Now, instead of simply turning in a free admission pass, you must first wait in line to trade in one pass for another pass, and then get in a separate line to turn that pass in for a ticket, and then you are allowed to walk through the gate. People who wish to pay cash for their admission now have only two lines instead of the five they had last year, so expect longer lines and waiting times before you can get in. If you pay cash, you are also given what looks to be a raffle ticket as you enter, however, this too gives you nothing, and is an exceptional waste of paper and effort.
When exiting the racetrack, Arlington has again decided that it is best to make the paying visitors suffer. While a large gate is in place and working, it is constantly blocked by Arlington officials (more commonly known to the fans as “redcoats” due not only to their jackets, but also their militant approach to defending tables and allowing entry and exit). Instead, guests are asked to wait in a single file line near the paid entry terminals, and forced out a very small exit pathway.
They have also instituted a new policy that says that bettors cannot cancel their bets within one minute of post time, despite the fact that this is allowed at every other track around the world. The betting machines have been installed with a new program that makes betting very clunky and illogical for casual racing fans, who may not be familiar with the interface. Betting personnel meanwhile, are as offensive and tacky as ever.
If Arlington Park wishes to remain at the top of their game, they need to realize one important fact: it isn’t about you! The fact is, most of their policies and procedures are designed to make it easier on them, rather than the fan. The net effect is easy to notice: the past two years have resulted in the lowest attendance figures in Arlington Park history. Fans are being driven away from the track by these new policies, which, in addition to the ticket canceling policy I mentioned above, now have grown to include things like: fans are not allowed to bring in commercial outside food or drink (this means anything from subway sandwiches to salads and sandwiches prepared at home and carried in shopping bags), no table reserving, no tablecloths on tables inside the building, no tables moved from the outside to the inside (or vice versa), and no exceptions when it comes to forgetting your player’s card.
