Horse Racing in the Windy City, 1945–80

This paper examines why and how equine sports boomed in the post-war era by examining the racing situation in metropolitan Chicago, second only to New York as a racing center. Racing was widely banned nationally in the early 1900s because of gambling, and only permitted in Chicago in 1926. The sport greatly expanded during the Depression when ten states legalized it to expand their base. By 1942 thoroughbred racing outdrew Major League Baseball because it provided was access to legalized gambling, otherwise permitted only in Nevada.

Chicago had five tracks, led by Arlington Park, operated by wealthy, politically connected businessmen whose large purses drew the nation’s top stables. It was also the home of Moe Annenberg’s racing wire that provided racing data to America’s bookmakers. Track owners deftly manipulated the regulatory State Racing Commission to promote their interests. This nexus blew up when former Gov. Otto Kerner was convicted of mail fraud in 1973 for accepting stock options from Arlington’s Marje Everett to promote her racing interests.

Thoroughbred racing’s success led to the legalization of evening harness racing in New York in 1940, and Illinois in 1946. It soon nearly equalized thoroughbred attendance. Clubs were owned mainly by state legislators who had passed the laws legalizing and regulating the sport. Such an arrangement was unethical, but legal until the 1970s. It was overseen by Secretary of State Paul Powell, who earned a small fortune.

The racing sports have dramatically declined since the 1980s. The primary reason was it lost its virtual monopoly over legal gambling with the rise of state lotteries, casinos, Off-Track Betting, and legalized sports betting in Las Vegas. Furthermore, illegal sports’ betting still thrives. Illinois supports racing with a share in casino profits, but there is currently just two thoroughbred tracks in Chicago and one harness course.