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Sunday, August 20, 2000 By Pohla Smith, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
After Ladbroke at The Meadows is sold, the new owners might want to take a look at what Arlington International Racecourse has been doing since its reopening to attract customers, new and old.
The owner, Richard Duchoissois, closed Arlington more than two years ago amidst an ugly public argument over dates, state aid, and the like.
One of the most gorgeous and historic tracks in the nation, it sat idle in suburban Chicago for two summers, "preserved like a precious urn" in the words of Tribune turfwriter Neil Milbert.
Last summer's Illinois dates were held at Hawthorne, another suburban Chicago track, probably no farther in miles from the Windy City than Arlington, but light years away in terms of atmosphere and amenities.
A lot of fans quit attending the summer races; a lot of horsemen moved on to other circuits; a lot of employees took other jobs.
A miracle of sorts occurred over the past year, however, and all the squabbles were settled. Duchoissois' gorgeous track would reopen and the running of the Arlington Million -- the world's first million-dollar race -- would resume with a $2 million purse and as part of the Arab Emirates' global racing series for handicap horses.
The ($2) Million went to post yesterday, capping the Arlington International Festival of Racing. Except for the fact that the festival and the Million used to be held over Labor Day, everything is pretty much back to normal.
"We're not doing everything perfect," Arlington CEO Scott Mordell said in a telephone interview, "but the overall tone is good.
"In hindsight we've realized that it has been much more of a new startup than a reopening."
The track, which is now in the process of merging with Churchill Downs' growing empire, spent almost $10 million on new projects, Mordell said. About 60 percent of the employees hired were new; the other 40 comprised folks from the old Arlington.
"It was a challenge mixing newcomers with the people who have been here before," Mordell said. Some "back-of-the house" procedures were changed and everyone learned the processes at the same time.
The track sent scouts out for good stables to attract the hard-core fan and then it undertook a program designed not just to attract, but to hook new fans. "It's called Get in the Game," Mordell said, "and it's our recognition that people didn't grow up with Little League thoroughbreds."
The program can be compared to the Knot Hole Gangs that were used to lure youths to baseball when baby boomers were young, only Get in the Game has programs for children and adults.
What the programs do is give people a close-up of racing, which can be a much more intimate and sensuous experience than sitting in a grandstand cheering for the No. 3 to win and make you $5.
Groups are taken to the backstretch of the track to watch the start of a 6-furlong sprint. They shake hands with the starter, they hear the jockeys and gatemen chattering to one another and the horses during the loading. They see the horses dancing in the starting gates, anxious to get their business under way.
There are also the more conventional backstretch tours, but Arlington has given them a couple new twists. Trainers who have gotten into the spirit take horses out of the barns for people to pet. The tram the fans ride is actually pulled by a wagon down the racetrack, and the people get an idea of what the jockeys' view of a race is. "I really wanted to have the tram pulled by a horse," Mordell said, "but I couldn't get that arranged in time."
Maybe next year.
Sign-up for the tours begin 45 minutes beforehand and the sheets are quickly filled, he said. Tours also can be arranged for small groups.
The track also does paddock tours and goggle giveaways for the children. These aren't the 50-cent, cheap reproductions given away; rather the jockeys sign and give to kids the goggles used in the races. There also are stick-pony races for the children on the main track.
"It's just ways to create memories to make them want to be closer to the sport," Mordell said. A youth sees those goggles signed by Pat Day on his wall every day and he's probably going to beg his parents to take him back to the track.
So far so good. Live wagering totals are up 20 percent on track compared to last year at Hawthorne, Mordell said. Arlington has been averaging 8,000 fans daily, and those numbers include attendance in May, when the weather wasn't always so nice.
"I think a lot of it is the attitude toward racing," Mordell said. "There was a lot of argument and contentiousness. There was no fun.
"Now there is optimism. ... It's easier to get people to go."
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