Despite making progress over the weekend in extended negotiations, the length of an agreement continues to be the major divide between Arlington Park and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association for live horse racing.
The Illinois Racing Board originally recessed a specially called meeting Friday until Monday morning in hopes the two sides would be able to hammer out an agreement and give the regulatory agency the chance to approve what would be a 30-day live racing schedule for 2020. Arlington Park and the ITHA were supposed to have an agreement in place by Jan. 1, as required by the capital bill Gov. Pritzker signed into law last June that legalized sports betting in Illinois.