#horse racing

#horse racing

Marking a significant step in the Chicago Bears' proposal to move to Arlington Heights, the team Wednesday filed paperwork to begin demolition of Arlington International Racecourse.The team said the first phase would begin with gutting the interior of the grandstand, and any exterior demolition would come later.

A group of investors wants to build a casino and horse track in south suburban Richton Park, officials said Wednesday, and Illinois lawmakers have proposed eliminating a major roadblock to the idea.A letter from Greenway Entertainment Group stated that the group is actively pursuing a racino in Richton Park, with the blessing of village officials, state Sen. Bill Cunningham said at a Senate executive committee hearing.

Plans for a casino at Hawthorne Race Course in the west suburbs remain in limbo, with officials saying Thursday they are still trying to get financing for the project.The general contractor, Pepper Construction, has demolished much of the inside and the front glass face of the Hawthorne's grandstand in preparation for building the casino with a view of the Stickney racetrack.

More than three years after Hawthorne Race Course was authorized to add casino gambling, not a single card has been dealt nor a coin dropped in the slots.The $400 million combination horse racetrack and casino, or "racino," was supposed to have opened in 2021.Workers even started initial demolition work at the track, which shut down the grandstand.

(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)

The cloud that has hung over horse racing since just before the Kentucky Derby continued on Sunday when a horse was euthanized after falling in the first race at Belmont Park.It is the sixth fatality since May 4 during racing or training at the Elmont, N.Y., track.

(John Minchillo / Associated Press)

History was made at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.Not by the horse but the trainer.In the 452nd Triple Crown race, Jena Antonucci became the first female trainer to win a classic when Arcangelo found a spot on the inside and rushed through to win the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes.

(Nick Wass / Associated Press)

Trainer Bob Baffert often talks about the extreme highs and lows in horse racing.On Saturday, he experienced both by winning the Preakness Stakes and watching a horrifying breakdown of one of his better 3-year-olds in an undercard race.National Treasure upset Kentucky Derby winner Mage in the 1 3/16-mile second leg of the Triple Crown.

(John Locher / Associated Press)

UCLA basketball coach Mick Cronin is having a tough few days.On Thursday, the Bruins were eliminated in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, and then on Sunday his trip to the Kentucky Derby was derailed by a couple of long shots in the $600,000 Sunland Derby.Cronin is part of a 10-partner horse ownership consortium known as The Del Mar Group, which includes UCLA football coach Chip Kelly and St. John's basketball coach Rick Pitino.

They came from the owners' suites, the second floor of the grandstand, the rail.From California and Michigan and beyond.They were not going to miss this moment.Their horse had just won the Kentucky Derby, and the winner's circle beckoned.Among those wearing white Mage hats were Brian Doxtator and Chase Chamberlin, whose Commonwealth app allows fans to buy shares in racehorses like Mage for as little as $50.

Her voice catches and tears threaten to follow, but Randy Gootzeit wants you to know about how a strapping gray colt nicknamed Snowball brought a couple of horse lovers back to the track, and how they got their hearts broken.Snowball, known on the track as Freezing Point, suffered a fatal breakdown during an undercard race at Churchill Downs on May 6, becoming the seventh horse to die in an agonizing eight days leading up to the Kentucky Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.The best thing you can say about the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby is that the 18 horses who made it to the starting gate on Saturday survived.That came as a relief after at least seven horses died at Churchill Downs in the past week, two of them on Saturday in races leading up to America's most famous race.

This article will be updated.Only days before horse racing's signature event, the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs is looking into the recent deaths during training of four horses, including a colt who was scheduled to run in Saturday's Derby.Wild on Ice, a 3-year-old who had three wins in five career starts and was in the Derby field, was euthanized after he was injured while training on the dirt track on Thursday, Churchill Downs said in a statement.

Alex Ovechkin isn't the only Capitals legend to get drenched in the locker room after a big milestone this season.Former Capitals captain Dale Hunter was honored by his players on Saturday night after his London Knights defeated the Windsor Spitfires, 6-3.For the 62-year-old Hunter, it was his 900th career victory as head coach of the Knights.

Online bookies need to cope with the usual peaks and troughs around football, horse racing, motorsports and other major sporting events, but few seem to attract the betting level of the Grand National, and if a site is overloaded or taking too long to respond, punters will take their business elsewhere.

Trainer Bob Baffert's attempt to run horses in this year's Kentucky Derby was once again denied when a federal district court in Louisville, Ky., denied his request for a preliminary injunction.Baffert is serving a two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc. after Medina Spirit tested positive for a legal medication, but not legal on race day, after winning the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

Ontario bettors can again wager on Ultimate Fighting Championship events.The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) reinstated betting on UFC events in the province Thursday.On Dec. 1, the organization ordered registered entities to stop offering and accepting wagering on the UFC "due to non-compliance with AGCO's betting integrity requirements" But on Thursday, the commission said the UFC has since "updated its policies and procedures."