2013 Arlington Park Season Meet Overview
Arlington International Racecourse opens its doors for the 2013 season on Friday, May 3. First post (the first race of the day) for the 10-race opening day program is 3 p.m.
The 89-day season continues through Sunday, Sept. 29, with live racing conducted on a four-day per week schedule.
Fans of high-quality turf racing will want to make plans to be here on Saturday, July 13, for Million Preview Day, and again on Saturday, August 17, for the Arlington Million and International Festival of Racing.
On Million Preview Day, the track will present four Grade III turf races – the $200,000 Arlington Handicap, the $200,000 Modesty Handicap, the $200,000 American Derby and the $150,000 Stars and Stripes Stakes – which will serve as prep races for the International Festival of Racing five weeks later.
In addition to the Grade I Arlington Million, the International Festival of Racing includes the Grade I $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes, Grade I $500,000 Secretariat Stakes and second running of the $400,000 American St. Leger Stakes.
In all, Arlington International will present 25 stakes races, 15 of which are graded, worth more than $5.5 million.
Other major stakes days include Saturday, May 25, featuring a trio of Grade III races – the $150,000 Arlington Classic, the $150,000 Arlington Matron and the $150,000 Hanshin Cup; each of the first three Saturdays in June will feature a pair of $100,000 stakes races for Illinois-bred horses; and Saturday, Sept. 7, when 2-year-olds will be featured in the Grade III $150,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity and the Listed $100,000 Arlington-Washington Lassie.
New Wagers and Lower Takeouts
Returning wagers with a low 15% takeout rate are the 50-cent Pick 5 and the $1 Jackpot High 5, which last year returned an Arlington record payoff of more than $1.1 million when it was finally solved for the first time on the 23rd day of the meet.
Offering a 15% takeout rate for the first time in 2013 are the $1 Pick 6, which will cover the final six races daily, and the all-new 10-cent Jackpot Pick 9.
Arlington Park Spring/Summer 2013
Dates: May 3rd - September 29th
Arlington Park horse racing schedule: In May and June, Arlington will be open for live racing every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday with a post time of 1 p.m. and every Friday with a first post of 3 p.m.
There will be a special 12:15 p.m. post time on Saturday, May 4, for the Kentucky Derby day program and there will be a holiday racing program on Memorial Day Monday, May 27, beginning at 1 p.m.
Once the calendar flips to July, Arlington’s schedule will change to a Thursday-Sunday schedule with the first race slated for 1 p.m. on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and 3 p.m. on Fridays through August and 2 p.m. in September.
Arlington Park Racetrack Information
Main track (Polytrack): 1-1/8 mile oval
Length of stretch from last turn to finish line: 1,049 feet
Width of stretch: 90 feet
Composition: Polytrack
Turf: 1 mile oval
Width of stretch: 150 feet
Composition: 15% red fescue, 52% Kentucky bluegrass, 31% perennial rye
Bets available may include: Win, Place, Show, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta, Jackpot High 5, Daily Double, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, Pick 6 and Jackpot Pick 9.
About Arlington Park
Arlington has been part of the Chicago sports scene since 1927, when a group of investors built what was then called Arlington Park, which upon its opening was called “America’s most beautiful race course” by the Chicago Tribune.
Completely rebuilt following a 1985 fire that destroyed the facility, Arlington remains one of the world’s finest racing establishments. Each August, Arlington hosts the world-renowned Arlington Million, which was inaugurated in 1981 as the world’s first million-dollar horse race.
Arlington Million and the International Festival of Racing
As mentioned above, the meet’s centerpiece is the Arlington Million and International Festival of Racing. Both the Arlington Million and Beverly D. Stakes have again been designated as Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” races, automatically qualifying winners for the Breeders' Cup World Championships.
The winner of the Million will receive an automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Turf while the winner of the Beverly D. will earn a starting slot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. First post on Arlington Million Day is 12:15 p.m., which is earlier than usual in order to accommodate the expanded 12-race card.
Brisnet.com Early Pick Four; TwinSpires.com Late Pick Four
Fans can get free Ultimate Past Performances for each Early Pick Four at Arlington International courtesy of Brisnet.com, the Internet’s largest horseracing information service. The Brisnet.com Early Pick Four starts on Race 2 every day.
TwinSpires.com will be the title sponsor each day’s Late Pick 4, which will cover the day’s final four races. Every Wednesday in May and June, the TwinSpires.com Late Pick 4 for have a $40,000 guaranteed pool so long as there are at least six betting interests in each race in the sequence and that all turf races in the sequence remain on the turf at the time the wager closes.