$10mm to Arlington

Churchill Downs Inc.’s Chicago-area racetrack will receive an estimated $10 million boost each of the next two years under a new subsidy from riverboat casinos.

About 60 percent of the money that Arlington Park will get must be used to boost purses. The remainder can be used for marketing and capital improvements.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the subsidy into law on Friday.

The law requires Illinois’ four largest riverboat casinos to pay 3 percent of their adjusted gross receipts to a Horse Racing Equity Trust Fund, the governor’s office said in a statement. That is expected to yield $36 million a year, but the subsidy expires after two years.

Between 1992, when riverboat-gambling first operated a full year, and last year, Illinois on-track wagering decreased 42 percent to $482 million, according to the Illinois legislature.

Courtesy of the Courier-Journal