Legislator requests probe of Arlington merger

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Monday, June 26, 2000 | 11:27 a.m.

CHICAGO -- A Democratic state legislator is asking Attorney General Jim Ryan to investigate the merger between the nation's most prominent tracks, Arlington International Racecourse and Churchill Downs.

Rep. Jeff Schoenberg wants to know whether state subsidies to reopen Arlington merely boosted the track's value so it could be sold.

The chairman of a House budget panel asked Ryan if the state can terminate the subsidies if there is evidence that Arlington owner Richard Duchossois was negotiating with Churchill Downs while the financial package was being approved by lawmakers last year.

"While the legislation was portrayed as necessary to assist the state's horse-racing industry as a whole from competition by riverboat gambling, the true result was to dramatically increase the value of a then-shuttered Arlington International Racecourse for its eventual acquisition," Schoenberg wrote.

The merger between the Arlington Heights-based racecourse and Louisville, Ky.-based Churchill Downs was announced Friday. The deal makes Duchossois the largest individual stockholder.