Home of the Arlington Million
But also to be staged on a loaded stakes weekend is the Grade II Illinois Derby. It made me go back and think of the last Illinois Derby winner to go on to win the Run for the Roses, War Emblem!
It seems to be a fading fact that War Emblem's Illinois Derby win came at Sportsman's Park and not at it's present Hawthorne home. With jockey Larry Sterling Jr., War Emblem ran away from a handful of rivals on the tight seven-eighths mile oval with a long, demanding stretch. The win was a special one his Chicago connections, owner Russell L. Reineman and trainer Frank Springer. But with the victory, came the sale offer from the Thoroughbred Corp, who bought majority interest in the son of Our Emblem-Sweetest Lady, and placed him in the stable of Bob Baffert for his Kentucky Derby bid.
Send off at long odds at Churchill Downs, War Emblem went on to win the 2002 Kentucky Derby. It did catch many of us in the Sportsman's Park press box at the time by surprise. And not many a ticket were cashed. As it turned out, one race after War Emblem's Derby triumph under the Twin Spires, the last race ever run was off at Sportsman's Park. I certainly didn't think that would be the last race I'd ever call there, but it was! So on a sunny day in May, 2002, with a mint julip glass in hand, I left Sportsman's Park to never return, but always left with the memory of War Emblem's win in the Illinois Derby and, three weeks later, the Kentucky Derby.
And now another good-looking, talented three-year old Big Brown has left quiet an impression after winning the Florida Derby in front running fashion. But don't forget what happens here in Chicago this weekend. Denis of Cork was highly touted in his three year old bow at Fair Grounds and did not disappoint. My broadcast partner Jessica Pacheco wasn't impressed. I still don't think she is. Am I right J.P? And is that a PYRO pin I see?
Denis of Cork followed that narrow allowance win in the Gentilly goo by landing the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn. So he will be a solid choice on Saturday in a small Illinois Derby field. Hmm...kind of like in 2002. So I'll be watching at Arlington Trackside on Saturday, with the thought of War Emblem's win at Sportsman's Park still fresh in my mind. And a fresh mint julip only a few weeks away!
Hope you like the new Arlington website. Get your tickets on-line now!!! Opening Day, Friday, May
