arlington race track fire

[1] In response, the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (which represents thoroughbred owners and trainers at both Arlington and Hawthorne) denounced CDI's decision, alleging that CDI "all but abandoned any meaningful commitment to Illinois racing" after their majority acquisition of Rivers Casino.[12]. Firefighters were pulling back multiple ceilings and walls to find fire burning behind each one. On May 11, Arlington debuts an alternate finish line at the 1/16 pole. When Kramer returned to the rubble-filled site after taking a few hours' reprieve from his 18 hours of work the day before, smoke was still rising from the ruins. The west side was blazing, and everyone was worried about the fire," he said. Within an hour the entire grandstand was engulfed and collapsing. The alleged bribes were in the form of stock options in 1961 that Kerner bought at a reduced price and then sold in 1968 at a profit. She, like DeWyze, had a hometown concert at the track for nearly 30,000 of her own fans and supporters. Horses work out on the track at Arlington Park in the days after the fire. "We were 24 days from the Arlington Million. All that was left was a steaming hunk of twisted steel in one corner, water-soaked piles of melted debris in another. The 2019 Arlington Million will take place on Aug. 10, 2019, as part of the Arlington International Festival of Racing. "We knew if a fire got in there, we might not be able to stop it," Kramer said. A dinner plate that said "Arlington Park" and one wineglass had somehow survived the fire intact. "You can't do that," said a man wearing an Arlington Park sweatshirt. "You couldn't breathe, you couldn't see. The blaze surged east through the building.". Joe Joyce, president of the track, told him a small fire had broken out in the Horseman's Lounge, but not to worry. "When it becomes a danger to human life, then you write it off as real estate.". Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer, The July 31, 1985, fire rages at Arlington Park. Arlington Park Race Track Fire Channel 5 WMAQ TV Chicago News - YouTube Here is more coverage of the historic Arlington Park Race Track fire in July of … "They truly did a magnificent job.". Since 2001, races at Arlington have been announced by John G. Dooley. It's not the most tragic thing he's ever seen -- that title goes to the 1982 Tylenol poisonings that killed seven people and were never solved. [3] Long involved with the business, adopted daughter Marje Lindheimer Everett then took over management of the racetrack. "It was the biggest fire I've ever seen," Kramer said. When Chuck Kramer and his fellow Arlington Heights firefighters imagined the "nightmare scenario," it was always the same. "I just didn't know how they were going to do it. He saw investigators carefully crawling over the debris. Arlington International Racecourse was founded as Arlington Park by California businessman Harry D. "Curly" Brown who would later serve as president of Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba. A shot of firefighter Chuck Kramer at the track the day of the fire. The owner of Arlington International Racecourse is threatening to end racing at the storied horse track despite winning long-sought authority to add gambling options there. About 11 a.m., after eight hours of relentless firefighting, it was time to stop. It was serviced by the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. At one point more than 4,000 gallons of water per minute was being poured on the fire. They began working to get the required clearance from Washington, D.C., a slow and deliberate process. "It's been the fastest 30 years of my life," he said. Thoroughbred racing began at Arlington in 1927, and the track first played host to the Arlington Million in 1981. The Business of Racing: By Steve Zorn. Arlington Park Race Track Fire 1985 WBBM TV 2 News Report - YouTube Channel 2 WBBM-TV Chicago Six PM news report about the major fire that destroyed the Arlington Park Horse Race Track in … The blast horns sounded. People come to watch as the Arlington Park fire rages out of control on July 31, 1985. [8] The track fully reopened in 1989 under a new name, Arlington International Racecourse. Courtesy of Arlington Heights Fire Department, The Arlington Park fire rages out of control on July 31, 1985. Arlington was destroyed by fire in … The transformation between the two points was just unbelievable, he said. On August 25, 1985, they did just that by using temporary bleachers. Everybody was on the ground trying to get a breath of air," Kramer remembers. Jockey Joe Bollero, who later became a successful trainer, rode Luxembourg to victory in the first race ever run at Arlington. Arlington park race track closing? It re-opened in 1989, before another closure in 1998. On June 24, 1952, jockey Eddie Arcaro becomes the first American jockey to win 3,000 races. Arlington Park race track in Arlington Heights, Ill., was destroyed Wednesday by a fast-moving fire that began in the track’s Post and Paddock Club at about 2:15 a.m. and spread to the grandstand. The first call came in about a fire at the Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights around 1 a.m. on July 31, 1985. "As long as I knew where my guys were and I knew where the exit was, we would stay there as long as we could," said Kramer, who is now 74 and has been with the Arlington Heights Fire Department for 48 years. In 1936 it added a photo finish camera. When Kramer got to Arlington Park, the luxurious Post and Paddock Club, built in the 1930s, was already beyond trying to save. "It was a sad day in Arlington Heights … Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer, A shot of firefighter Chuck Kramer at the track the day of the fire. In 1934, Arlington Park race track ran turf races for the first time in the state's history. "We had a moral obligation to replace what was so important to the community and the industry," he said. In 1926, a second Washington Park Race Track opened up in south suburban Homewood. A dinner plate and a wineglass were recovered from the ruins of Arlington Park and are on display at the Arlington Heights Fire Department. Complete arlington-park horse racing track coverage, latest news & race schedules with expert tips to bet online on drf.com The dirt course was replaced with a synthetic track before the 2007 meet. But the fire at Arlington Park was memorable for Kramer, and many others, for another reason. Just after 2 a.m. July 31, 1985, Kramer's radio crackled alive, waking the off-duty captain. Firefighters at Arlington Park take a breather. Teams of firefighters from 21 departments raced to Arlington International Racecourse 30 years ago this week, unsure of what they would find. Eventually a floor would drop and people would fall through and you have to live with that as chief officer.". In 1985 Arlington was the only track in the world with a million-dollar purse. "There's smoke in the Horseman's Lounge, call everybody in," he heard. A year later, on May 14, 2011, Haley Reinhart, of Wheeling, Illinois, also made the top 3 on American Idol. Arlington Park collapses into a mass of twisted steel. Daily Herald File Photo, Graphic: How the fire spread (click image to open). A Chicago Fire Department official was on the scene. Arlington is a leading manufacturer of quality electrical products, communications products, home theater products, and more since 1949. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks (six) than any other major metropolitan area[citation needed]. It is located near the Illinois Route 53 expressway. Arlington reopened in 1989. "The place was in ruins," said Maki, who is now chief justice at the Rolling Meadows courthouse. Kramer pointed to the blazing fire and explained that racing was the last thing on his mind. For Arlington Heights, it is the dividing mark between eras at the track. In the first race run, jockey Joe Bollero guided Luxembourg to victory. There is stabling on the backstretch for over 2,000 horses. The explosives expert arrived from Fort Sheridan. The horse-racing industry had lobbied for slots and table games for years, but the corporate owners of Arlington Racecourse say Illinois’ market is "untenable" for their expansion. If munitions experts from Fort Sheridan could blow up part of the building, they might stop the fire in its tracks. Joyce resigned in 1986 after disagreements with Duchossois. Daily Herald file photo, Arlington Park collapses into a mass of twisted steel. He saved a glass that was sitting on the table and a special plate with track logo on it. They would take a break between 4 and 8 a.m. so the horses could work out undisturbed. These included a 1985 fire, which burned down the clubhouse and grandstand but didn’t stop the track from running the Arlington Million a month later. Even when the horses go back to their hay, there are plenty of reasons to come out and play with year round group event options ranging from parties, expos, meetings, and weddings. Kramer's team members weren't wearing air packs, saving their limited air supply for when the fire got even worse. Not so long ago, Arlington Park near Chicago was one of the jewels of the summer racing circuit. [11], In February 2021, CDI announced plans to sell the entire Arlington Park property for redevelopment. Arlington International Racecourse was founded as Arlington Park by California businessman Harry D. "Curly" Brown who would later serve as president of Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba. Also on May 14, Arlington is featured in an episode of Undercover Boss where Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen goes to Arlington and Calder Race Course. It's a bittersweet opening day for Arlington Park fans. "But the fire was above us, below us, around us. Kramer climbed a now-defunct escalator to the dining room that once wined and dined high-level gamblers during races. "You can't lose people over that. In 1933, the track installed the first all-electric totalisator. People come to watch as the Arlington Park fire rages out of control on July 31, 1985. He carried 143 pounds and held that record until 1998. Just put your hand in front of your face and keep crawling," he said. For Duchossois, it was a defining moment, but one that seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. In 2000, Arlington reopened after a two-year shutdown. On July 31, 1985, the suburban landscape changed forever. Today, that wouldn't be allowed. A five-alarm fire, possibly caused by an electrical malfunction, destroyed the grandstand and clubhouse of Arlington Park today. The Arlington grandstand burned to the ground July 31, 1985 | arlingtonpark.com. Fire / Red Stars Wolves ... William T. Buick rides Debussy to victory in the 28th running of the Arlington Million horse race at the Arlington Park Race Track in Arlington Heights in 2010. And Churchill Downs, the namesake of the home of the Kentucky Derby, isn’t the first owner to threaten to move the track. In September of that year, Churchill Downs Incorporated completed its purchase of the track. Arlington entered a new era in 1983 when Richard L. Duchossois led an Illinois investment group to purchase the track from its former owners and made a pledge to continue presenting championship racing. The matter was successfully concluded in the favor of the Building owner. There are three Grade I events taking place at the track with the Arlington Million, Beverly D Stakes, and the Secretariat Stakes all taking place here. In 1968, the future Hall of Famer Dr. Fager wins the one-mile Washington Park Handicap in world record time of 1:32 1/5. World class jockeys, trainers and Thoroughbreds have graced this track throughout the decades. Around 8 a.m. Rodewald, a former Army man, had an idea. Arlington Park horse racing track is up for sale, Churchill Downs says. "I looked up at one of the guys on the third floor and his eyes looked like saucers, but we were OK," he said. How were we going to run it and how were we going to clean up?" Arlington opened in 1927 and famously burned down in 1985, only to be reconstructed in time to run its trademark “Arlington Million” race that same year. Any race track that has a Sunday Silence sundae on its dining-room menu can't be all bad. Much has changed in and around the Arlington Heights oval that's hosted horse racing since Luxembourg was first to cross the finish line during the inaugural race on Oct. 13, 1927. In 2001, Arlington reopened as Arlington Park but returned to Arlington International Racecourse in 2013.[9]. Daily Herald File Photo, Charles Kramer, assistant EMA coordinator for the Arlington Heights Fire Department, talks about the day the track burned to the ground. Duchossois knew he had to honor the commitment. Arlington International Racecourse is the ultimate summer event destination. "It was quite an occasion to look at the new facilities that had been built," he said. Arlington International was the site of the first thoroughbred race with a million-dollar purse in 1981. On May 14, 2010, Lee DeWyze, a citizen of Mount Prospect, Illinois, and a contestant on American Idol, performed a concert at Arlington Park for approximately 41,000 fans. Yet it was announced that the Arlington Million would still be held at Arlington International. "The guys didn't want to stop, but it was the right decision," Kramer said. "Everybody was determined that they were going to put this thing out. But Kramer had only one thought in his head: "We're going to have a hell of a mess.". 162 were here. TO REQUEST INFORMATION CLICK HERE. He remembers the fire… "I wasn't worried about saving it; it was beyond saving," he said. "You could dump that building in Lake Michigan, you're not going to put the fire out," he told them. In 1996, 34,000 fans jammed into Arlington to see the two-time Horse of the Year and future Hall of Famer Cigar tie the modern day record of 16 consecutive wins in the Arlington Citation Challenge. Live racing and entertainment, April 30 – September 25, 2021. Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955 [citation needed]) is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Arlington Park is calling this season the final turn, the last before the track which opened in 1927 calls it quits. 162 were here. Newsletter. "When you get to the point where you can't see anybody because it's so black and so hot, you just crawl toward the heat. In August 2019, track owner Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) announced that it would consider options to transfer racing away from Arlington Park after 2021. It was an electrical blaze that got out of control quickly as it spread through decades-old construction, behind walls and ceilings. "If you drive engines across the turf track we're not going to race out there for months.". Dick Duchossois woke up to a phone ringing around 1 a.m. in his Barrington Hills home. In the scant moments it took Kramer to get dressed, the fire was upgraded to a five-alarm. Arlington has invested heavily in the future of racing, but the tradition associated with its glorious past will always be special. Arlington was destroyed by fire in July 1985 – with flames sweeping through the huge grandstand and leaving it a mass of charred rubble – but the racetrack still held the Arlington Million less than a month later using temporary bleachers. In 1969, she was accused of bribing Illinois Governor Otto Kerner Jr.. “Working for Mr. D. was the equivalent of getting an MBA at Harvard,” Snierson said. These included a 1985 fire, which burned down the clubhouse and grandstand but didn’t stop the track from running the Arlington Million a month later. "I think we're a dollar short and a day late," Rodewald told him. Biggest stakes: The Arlington Million, the Beverly D. Stakes, and the Secretariat Stakes. Thirty years later, the memory of the fire at Arlington Park is still strong. Here is their story. This guide is organized into the following sections to give you a complete rundown of the Arlington Million: About the Arlington Million: The history of the race and its famous winners. A five-alarm fire, possibly caused by an electrical malfunction, destroyed the grandstand and clubhouse of Arlington Park today. Charles Kramer, assistant EMA coordinator for the Arlington Heights Fire Department, talks about the day that the Arlington racecourse burned to the ground. The decision is not a surprise. It introduced the first electric starting gate in 1940 and the largest closed circuit TV system in all of sports in 1967. Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer, A dinner plate and a wineglass were recovered from the ruins of Arlington Park and are on display at the Arlington Heights Fire Department. Courtesy of Arlington Heights Fire Department. HOMEWOOD, Ill., Feb. 6 (AP)—A tire destroyed the Washington Park race track grandstand, clubhouse and restaurant late last night, demolishing the five‐story complex. The new Washington Park Race Track was located west of Halsted Street just outside Homewood village bounds. The result of that race is immortalized in bronze at the top of the paddock at Arlington, where a statue of jockey Bill Shoemaker riding John Henry to a thrilling come-from-behind victory over 40-1 long shot The Bart celebrates Thoroughbred racing's inaugural million dollar race. "We've never seen a fire that big and we never will again.". “Working for Mr. D. was the equivalent of getting an MBA at Harvard,” Snierson said. The Arlington Park fire on July 31, 1985. In 1964, Arlington Park inherits the thoroughbred race dates of Washington Park, who is now exclusively running harness races. However, CDI - which had acquired a majority stake of Rivers Casino in nearby Des Plaines earlier that year and had already announced plans to expand it - argued that the installation of gaming positions at Arlington would result in higher tax payments of up to 20% compared to nearby casinos because of contributions needed to fund horse racing purses. In 2007 to promote safer racing, Arlington International Racecourse invested $11 million to install a synthetic racing surface called Polytrack which is still used today. Secretariat won easily and Arlington created the Secretariat Stakes, also for 3-year-olds but on the turf, in his honor.[7]. It's not the most life-altering -- that would be a motorcycle accident that involved a young girl who looked too much like his daughter and scared him off his own bike for good. Arlington Park opened in 1927 and in 1981 became the first racetrack to host a race with a million-dollar purse, the Arlington Million. Click here to sign up for the Kerner was eventually convicted of mail fraud, but Everett denied at trial that she intended to bribe him, and the government never identified her as a briber. The Aug. 25 "Miracle Million" went off without a hitch with fans watching from tents as Duchossois got to work rebuilding the track, which would reopen in 1989. Luckily, no one was seriously injured or killed. He couldn't know that when future Arlington Heights Mayor Arlene Mulder and her husband got off a plane at O'Hare International Airport, home from vacation, she could see the smoke cloud from the runway. Owner Churchill Downs Inc. announced plans in February 2021 to sell all 326 acres of Arlington Park property for redevelopment.[1]. The order was radio broadcast around 11:30 a.m.: Evacuate now. The law gave CDI the right to install up to 1,200 gaming positions, such as slot machines, at Arlington Park. Unsure of the future of Arlington, the meet was moved to Hawthorne Race Course. After 1955, seating capacity was increased to 30,000 and parking facilities expanded to accommodate 15,000. "It's all over," Rodewald said to the fire chiefs huddled around him. You can't put people in that situation.". The official Facebook page of the Arlington County Fire Department. Arlington replaced its dirt course with a synthetic track prior to the opening of the 2007 season. There are bigger, and better, reasons for liking the new Arlington, which is the result of 19 months of construction and an estimated $175 million of … At 74, he doesn't fight fires anymore, but with several generations of firefighters in his family, Kramer has no plans to retire. Arlington Park race track opened to an enthusiastic crowd of about 20,000 on October 13, 1927. The track has a one-mile and one-eighth dirt oval and a one-mile turf oval. He divided the building into sections and sent groups of firefighters in. There was another problem: The fire was so big, where would they get enough water to fight it? Arlington park race track closing? He didn't know embers from the fire were damaging cars in Schaumburg. The next day wrecking equipment arrived. CDI said they would also seek the transfer of Arlington's racing license to another track in the state, but committed to Arlington's race dates for 2021 (April 30-September 25). They got the tanker trucks. Arlington Park racecourse reopened Thursday with restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and its weekend events quickly sold out. "By the time I got here everything was going up in smoke. Another hour passed before the phone rang again. In 2016, Arlington debuted the Arlington Racing Club, an ownership group with the goal to garner interest in thoroughbred ownership. During racing season at Arlington International Racecourse, there are many features of the facility for patrons. "We would tear back a wall and chase down the flames, and then there would be another wall with more flames behind it.". Arlington was the first track to install a public-address system and employed the pioneering race caller Clem McCarthy to describe the action. In 1968, Marje Everett sold the racetrack to Gulf & Western, remaining as director. "A lot of them said, 'We can get this, we can get this,'" Kramer said. William Maki was on the Arlington Heights village board in 1985 and was village president by the time Arlington Park reopened four years later. Arlington Heights You crawl toward the orange glow. The following stakes were held at Arlington in 2019. Charles Kramer, assistant EMA coordinator for the Arlington Heights Fire Department, talks about the day the track burned to the ground. Boom! Jockey Joe Bollero, who later became a successful trainer, rode Luxembourg to victory in the first race ever run at Arlington. Benjamin F. Lindheimer acquired control of Arlington Park in 1940 and owned it until his death in 1960. "Nobody wants to stop fighting this fire," Kramer said. The Aug. 1, 1985, issue of the Daily Herald read: "Flames started shooting out of the grandstand at about 12:45 p.m. and firefighters backed their trucks about 100 yards from the building's northwest end. To meet the changing needs of the electrical industry, Arlington continuously develops unique and innovative products that … [10] Do the Wave won the first race on the Polytrack on May 4.
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