Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar — a longtime racehorse owner and breeder — says Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state leaders should exert pressure on the owner of Arlington Park in an eleventh-hour attempt to save the historic racing venue and the struggling Illinois horse racing industry.
In an interview with the Daily Herald, the former Republican governor — who has been racing horses since leaving office in 1999 — also expressed disappointment in Churchill Downs Inc.’s decision to sell the track after refusing to add slots and table games the corporation had long sought to boost its horse racing business.
Despite Churchill’s determination to sell the prime 326 acres it owns in Arlington Heights, the two-term former governor said he’s still hopeful Arlington could once again be a viable racetrack.
