V E N U E = 8/14 @ Arlington

[RUFFIAN]

…. But the Million has been renamed the Mr. D Stakes
and the purse reduced to $600,000. “

WHY WAS THE ARLINGTON MILLION RENAMED ?
After all this time that’s kind of sad

It’s also sad to see this Racetrack go the way of the dinosaur

PS
I called the track to find out why they Change the name of the Arlington Million Race

He said it was to honor Mr. D
After all he has done for the track and since they are closing down

[JolyB]

The official house answer you received is kind of humorous and indeed Dick Duchossois deserves to be honored for everything he had done at Arlington Park. But there may be a simpler answer.

In 1981 Arlington offered the first thoroughbred race with a purse of $1,000,000 and so they named it the Arlington Million. The name has been slightly changed over the years [i.e. the Budwiser Arlington Million], but it always included the word "Million" due to its purse. Now that they have cut the purse from $1,000,000 to $600,000 they really couldn't continue to refer to the race as the "Million". Glad they came up with a recognition of Mr. D as the track that he created fades into the sunset.