Joe Bollero, nicknamed ”Mr. Arlington Park” after he rode Luxembourg to victory in the first race on the track`s inaugural card on Oct. 13, 1927, died Wednesday.
He was 80.
Mr. Bollero suffered a stroke Friday and was admitted to the intensive-care unit at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.
Mr. Bollero had longtime ties to the Arlington track, becoming a top trainer there after he quit riding.
He earned Arlington titles as a trainer in 1979 and tied with Richard Hazelton in 1982.
This season, Mr. Bollero`s horses had won three races and recorded one show in 10 starts for $24,036 in earnings.
Assistant trainers had carried the brunt of Mr. Bollero`s work, since he had been slowed by emphysema in his later years.
But he still maintained his ties to the Arlington track: ”I`m taking it easy to see what happens,” he told the Tribune in May. ”But I hate to quit the game.”