Arlington Park

Contact: David Zenner
Dzenner@arlingtonpark.com

$1.3 MILLION OVERNIGHT STAKES PROGRAM ANNOUNCED

Twenty-Five Races at $50,000 each on Docket

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (March 10, 2009) – A schedule of 26 overnight stakes races worth an aggregate $1.3 million for the 2009 meet was announced Tuesday by Kevin Greely, Arlington Park Vice President of Racing and Racing Secretary. The overnight stakes slate kicks off on opening day with the Timeless Native Stakes at one mile over Arlington’s Polytrack synthetic surface.

Each of Arlington’s overnight stakes will be worth $50,000, the minimum purse requirement for a stakes race to carry black-type designation in 2009.

“Announcing the entire overnight stakes schedule prior to the start of the meet will allow horsemen, both local and regional, to plan their programs to use these stakes races for preps for races that are part of our $5 million major stakes schedule,” Greely said.

Most of the overnight stakes will be raced four weeks prior to the race for which it serves as a prep while the rest will serve to bolster categories that may not have a counterpart upcoming major stakes race.

The complete overnight stakes schedule follows:

Day/Date	Race	Condition	Distance	Purse
Friday, May 1	Timeless Native Stakes	3-year-olds & up	1 Mile	$50,000
Saturday, May 2	Double Delta Stakes	3-year-old, f	1 Mile (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, May 9	Chester House Stakes	3-year-olds & up	1 1/16 Miles (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, May 16	Reluctant Guest Stakes	3-year-olds & up, f&m	1 Mile (turf)	$50,000
Sunday, May 24	Zen Stakes	3-year-olds & up, IL	7 Furlongs	$50,000
Sunday, May 24	Your Ladyship Stakes	3-year-olds & up, f&m, IL	7 Furlongs	$50,000
Saturday, May 30	Fit For a Queen Stakes	3-year-olds & up, f&m	6 ½ Furlongs	$50,000
Saturday, June 6	Nicole’s Dream Stakes	3-year-olds & up, f&m	5 Furlongs (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, June 6	The Tin Man Stakes	3-year-olds & up	1 1/8 Miles (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, June 13	Possibly Perfect Stakes	3-year-olds & up, f&m	1 1/8 Miles (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, June 27	Polar Expedition Stakes	3-year-olds & up	1 3/4 Miles	$50,000
Saturday, July 11	Pink Ribbon Stakes	3-year-olds & up, f&m	5 Furlongs (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, July 11	Diamond Ribbon Stakes	3-year-old, f	1 1/16 Miles (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, July 25	Gaily Gaily Stakes	3yo & up, f&m	1 ½ Miles (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, August 1	Rossi Gold Stakes	3-year-olds & up	1 ½ Miles (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, August 8	Hatoof Stakes	3-year-old, f	1 Mile (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, August 8	Forward Pass Stakes	3-year-olds	7 Furlongs	$50,000
Saturday, August 8	Cigar Stakes	3-year-olds & up	1 Mile	$50,000
Saturday, August 8	Spectacular Bid Stakes	2-year-olds	7 Furlongs	$50,000
Saturday, August 8	Top Flight Stakes	2-year-old, f	7 Furlongs	$50,000
Saturday, August 15	Lazer Show Stakes	3-year-olds & up, f&m	5 Furlongs (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, August 22	Taylor’s Special Stakes	3-year-olds & up	5 Furlongs (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, August 29	John Henry Stakes	3-year-olds & up	1 Mile (turf)	$50,000
Monday, Sept. 7	Honor Glide Stakes	3-year-olds	1 1/8 Miles (turf)	$50,000
Saturday, Sept. 12	Safely Kept Stakes	3-year-olds & up, f&m	6 Furlongs	$50,000
Saturday, Sept.19	Claire Marine Stakes	3-year-olds & up, f&m	1 ½ Miles (turf)	$50,000

Arlington Park – the Chicago area’s premier Thoroughbred racetrack located in Arlington Heights, Ill. – will run a 98-day meet in 2009 from Friday, May 1 through Sunday, Sept. 27. Arlington Park, whose parent company is Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN), also operates 10 off-track, simulcast-wagering facilities: Trackside Arlington Park (Arlington Heights), Trackside Chicago, Trackside Quad City Downs (East Moline), Trackside Rockford, Trackside Waukegan, Fat Sam’s Bar & Grill featuring Trackside OTB in Lockport, Lucky’s featuring Trackside OTB in South Elgin, Nicolino’s featuring Trackside OTB in McHenry, Tad’s Sports Bar & Grill featuring Trackside OTB in South Beloit and Salerno-Pincente Ristorante featuring Trackside OTB in Hodgkins. Information on Arlington Park can be found online at www.arlingtonpark.com.