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Published on Tuesday, 14 August 2012 08:42
For the second year in a row, WGN-TV will be airing the Arlington Million live from Arlington Park Racetrack on Saturday, August 18th, from 5:00pm-6:00pm. The prestigious horse race broadcast will be hosted by WGN-TV's sports anchor Dan Roan and former WBBM-TV sports anchor Howard Sudberry, who now works as Arlington Park's Senior Director of Marketing and Communications. For the first time this year, the broadcast team will be joined Eddie Olczyk, the Chicago Blackhawks/NBC Sports announcer and horse racing expert.
This Saturday will be the 30th running of the Arlington Million since it was first held in the summer of 1981. (There were no Arlington Millions run in either 1998 or 1999.) It is a Grade 1 race for thoroughbred horses of at least three years, and raced over a distance of 1.25 miles on the turf at Arlington Park. As the name suggests, the race features a winning purse of one million dollars. The Arlington Million was the first thoroughbred race to ever offer a one million dollar purse.
Though races will be going on all day at Arlington Park Racetrack (located at 2200 W Euclid Ave, at Wilke Rd, in Arlington Heights, IL), including the important Secretariat Stakes and the Beverly D. Stakes, it the spectacular final race that people from all over will be coming to see that day: The Arlington Million. The race is a grand celebration drawing horses, owners, trainers, jockeys, and fans from every corner of the world. Held each August, this race has been one of Chicagoland's greatest entertainment and sporting events of the year.
Also new this year, as compared to last year's broadcast of the Arlington Million, WGN-TV is expanding the program to a full hour. This will allow the station to show highlights from the $400,000 American St. Leger Stakes and the $500,000 Secretariat Stakes, both of which will have been run earlier in the day. In addition to those races, the program will be able to air the live running of the Grade I $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes before showing the grand finale, the live running of the Arlington Million.
On Saturday, August 18 at 5:00pm, The Arlington Million XXX will be seen all across Chicagoland on WGN-TV, as well as being simulcast nationwide on cable/satellite superstation WGN America. Both will be airing the broadcast live and in HD. For those who miss it, Chicago cable station CLTV will air a repeat of the exciting WGN-TV broadcast later that same night, at 8:00pm.
Additionally, fans of the Arlington Million will want to tune in to the "WGN Midday News" tomorrow, Wednesday, August 15th. The post position draw for the horses will take place live in the WGN-TV studios during this newscast between 11:00am-1:00pm.
