Away and running at Arlington!

Away and running at Arlington!

 

Yes....Finally!

 

The 81st season of racing at Arlington Park is set to kick off on Friday, May 2 with a new 2.30 (central) post time. 

 

I can now drag myself away from watching HRTV (Horse Racing TV) on channel 407 on Comcast cable Chicago and get back in the game. Not that I haven't enjoyed seeing Target Louisville or the well produced Race Day America with Carolyn Conway and Scott Hazelton (son of Richard Hazelton, Arlington's All Time Leading Trainer) every day from the comfort of my living room, but it will be GREAT to be back in the Arlington announcer booth for my ninth season.  Wow.  And despite those years past, opening day always is a thrill.

 

I'm not going to complain about getting to spend most of the winter in the great city of New Orleans with it's history, incredible food and, of course, the historic Fair Grounds. But I'm looking forward to getting started here at Arlington.  And try to keep in mind a couple of post time changes for the season. While I always love getting to any track early to camp out a great spot in the sun, Arlington will now start on Friday's at 2.30 (central) and a 1.20 (central) post time for our other racing days, including weekends.  And you can always surf through our website for more information.

 

On Saturday, we'll get to see Fort Prado, one of my favourite all-time Illinois bred horses, run in the opening weekend feature the James B. Tafel Illinois Owners Stakes. The $1,000,000 career earnings mark is so close, so I hope fans will be as excited as I would be to see this giving and wonderful horse get there for Team Block on Saturday.

 

I'll be sticking to my guns and pull for Louisiana Derby winner Pyro in the Kentucky Derby. I was watching the draw at a local establishment when I heard a Voice from Above mention Pyro drawing post nine. So I'm sure the connections are happy with that. And a nice price on the morning line too. If Big Brown is to become the next Derby winner, he will have to win from post 20. Yikes. But I've always rooted for his connections, so I'm just hoping for an exciting race. Yet at post time for the Derby, Pyro for me back on the dirt at Churchill Downs at a nice price.

 

I'm sure many of you are familiar with many of the jockeys we will see on Opening weekend. Our leading jockey from last season Rene Douglas is back to defend his crown. But he comes with a lot of baggage (to carry around riding crowns). So I meant that in a good way! Douglas was also the leading rider at Arlington through most of the early 2000's and showed his prowess for this track upon his return here in 2007.

Another rider to watch I think will be Eusebio Razo, Jr. It was great to see Eddie get a well earned riding title at Oaklawn Park this winter and he always seems to have a good meet here. And how can you ever count out Chris Emigh? You can't. Chris took home the riding crown here just a couple of years ago and had a good winter down South. Watch for Chris to show his talent on polytrack right off the bat!

Also have to give a shout out to James Graham, who just year in and year out does the business in Chicago and New Orleans. James has mastered the Stall-Wilson turf course at Fair Grounds and is known for being a hard worker and surely will have an impact on the jockey standings. Ramsey Zimmerman also made a steady climb up the standings at Fair Grounds and rode the talented (now sidelined Euroears) to an undefeated campaign this winter. Watch for the "Zimm" (thanks for the cap Ramsey) to have a good year. And Jesse Campbell finished strong at Fair Grounds in March and coming home to Chicago could be the spark to vault him right to the top!

 

Let the racing begin!

 

And don't forget to keep coming back to our new website for all the latest racing news, daily information and handicapping tools. And if you can't make it out one day to the track, tune into racing from Arlington Park, plus Churchill Downs, on HRTV available now on Comcast Chicago!

 

I want to wish all of our fans and horseman a terrific season at Arlington Park. And don't forget you can even order your tickets on-line now!  Let's all make it a great year at Chicago's premier race course!