Arlington opens its doors for the 2013 season on Friday, with first post for
the 10-race opening day program at 3 p.m. (CDT).
General admission on opening day is free. The 89-day season continues through
September 29, with live racing conducted on a four-day per week 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 for the Kentucky
Derby Day program and there will be a holiday racing program on Memorial Day,
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.
In addition to the 10-race card on opening day, the first 5,000 guests will
receive a coupon for a hot dog and their choice of beer or soda for just 50
cents. The day’s festivities will also include the simulcast of the Kentucky
Oaks from Churchill Downs, as well as advanced wagering on the next day’s
Kentucky Derby.
Fans of high-quality turf racing will want to make plans at Arlington on July
13 for Million Preview Day, and again on August 17 for the Arlington Million and
International Festival of Racing.
On Million Preview Day, the track will present four Grade 3 turf races — the
$200,000 Arlington Handicap, the $200,000 Modesty Handicap, the $200,000
American Derby and the $150,000 Stars and Stripes — which will serve as prep
races for the International Festival of Racing five weeks later.
In addition to the Grade 1 Arlington Million, the International Festival of
Racing includes the Grade 1, $750,000 Beverly D., Grade 1, $500,000 Secretariat
and the $400,000 American St. Leger.
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 May 25, featuring a trio of Grade 3 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 September 7, when
two-year-olds will be featured in the Grade 3, $150,000 Arlington-Washington
Futurity and the $100,000 Arlington-Washington Lassie.
Returning wagers with a low 15 percent 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 percent 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.
Like the Jackpot High 5, the entire carryover pool (plus 50 percent of that
day’s net pool) on the Jackpot Pick 9 will only be paid out when there is a
single winning ticket sold that correctly selects the official winners in the
designated Pick 9 races with 50 percent of the day’s net pool being split
amongst those ticket holders with eight of nine winners. If there are multiple
tickets sold that correctly select the official winners in the designated Pick 9
races, then 50 percent of the daily Jackpot Pick 9 pool will be distributed
among those ticket holders and 50 percent of the daily pool will be carried over
to the next day.
Fans can get free Ultimate Past Performances for each Early Pick 4 at
Arlington courtesy of
Brisnet.com, the Internet’s largest horse racing information service. The
Brisnet.com Early Pick Four starts on Race 2 every day. To download your free
Early Pick Four past performances, visit
ArlingtonPark.com to
access the link.
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 will
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.
Information on Arlington can be
found online at
www.arlingtonpark.com, on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/arlingtonpark and
www.facebook.com/tracksideotb, and on
Twitter at
@Arlington_Park for the latest happenings,
@arlingtonracing
for the latest racing news and
@tracksideotb for
all things pertaining to off-track wagering.
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com