Joint statement from the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association:
On Monday, April 5th, the Illinois Racing Board called a meeting between horsemen’s groups and racetrack representatives to discuss the future of “slots at the tracks” legislation. The IRB agreed not to negotiate for either party but merely to facilitate the meeting. The meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, April 7th, at the James R Thompson Center at 10:30 AM. Several Racing Board Commissioners expressed an interest in observing this meeting. The ITHA and the IHHA were very excited about the prospects of a meeting with a 3rd party involved.
On April 6th, we were informed that the racetracks (collectively) canceled the meeting. The IHHA and the ITHA are extremely disappointed with this latest development. The racetracks have been preaching that time is running out on legislation, yet when a potentially fruitful negotiation was to be held, they canceled the session.
