Column: Why I’m boycotting the Kentucky Derby — and why Chicago sports fans should too
The rubble that remains at the former Arlington Park site is a monument to the greed of Churchill Downs Inc. and its disregard for horse racing in Chicago.
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Reliving Triple Crown winner Secretariat’s victory at Arlington Park 50 years ago: ‘He responded magnificently’
It's sadly ironic that coinciding with the demolition of Arlington Park this month is the 50th anniversary of a race at the track run by a thoroughbred many acclaim as...
Frank Amato — an ‘institution’ at Loyola Academy athletics for 46 years — dies at 96
Frank Amato came to Loyola Academy in 1966 to be the head track and assistant football coach, and during the next 46 years he became one of the state's most...
‘Sweet’ Charlie Brown, an iconic member of the DuSable team that lost the 1954 state basketball title in controversial fashion, dies
If statues honoring the former DuSable High School's most revered alumni were erected in front of 4900 S. Wabash Ave., "Sweet" Charlie Brown would be standing in bronze alongside Nat...
Noel Hickey remembered as legendary horse trainer, breeder and owner at Arlington International Racecourse
During the 1990s, thoroughbred trainer, breeder and owner Noel Hickey wrote one of the most memorable chapters in the storied annals of Arlington International Racecourse. In the rich history of...
Dick Duchossois, the longtime owner of Arlington International Racecourse, dies at age 100
It wasn't until Dick Duchossois reached middle age that horses unexpectedly galloped into his life. Initially, Duchossois was just interested, a supportive father who got involved simply because a son...
Phil Langley, a major figure in Illinois harness racing, dies at 83
Harness racing was in Phil Langley's DNA. From his boyhood days in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, until his death at age 83 on April 11 at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox,...
Billy Johnston, influential leader of Illinois’ once thriving harness racing scene, dies
Starting in the mid-1960s, Billy Johnston presided over harness meetings at Sportsman's Park at a time when the Cubs didn't play home games at night and the Blackhawks didn't televise...
Tom Carey, prep and college football standout who ran Hawthorne Race Course, dies
Tom Carey always wondered how his life would have turned out if he had decided to pursue a career as a college football coach instead of joining his father Robert...
Rob Marcocchio, whose networking skills fueled work in insurance and horse racing, dies
Rob Marcocchio was a master networker and storyteller whose acumen with names and numbers was key to his career as a principal in a large insurance agency and his work...