Balmoral Racing Club, Inc. v. Illinois Racing Bd.

• Decision Date: 24 September 1992
• Docket Number: 72100,Nos. 72099,s. 72099
• Citation: 177 Ill.Dec. 419,151 Ill.2d 367,603 N.E.2d 489
• Parties: , 177 Ill.Dec. 419 BALMORAL RACING CLUB, INC., et al., Appellants, v. The ILLINOIS RACING BOARD et al., Appellees.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 489

603 N.E.2d 489

151 Ill.2d 367, 177 Ill.Dec. 419

BALMORAL RACING CLUB, INC., et al., Appellants, v. The ILLINOIS RACING BOARD et al., Appellees.

Nos. 72099, 72100.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Sept. 24, 1992.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 30, 1992.

[151 Ill.2d 374] [177 Ill.Dec. 421] Arthur E. Engelland, and Angela M. Riccio, Chicago, for appellant Chicago Div. of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Assoc.

Thomas J. Gilbert, Gilbert & Schoenstedt, Joliet, for amicus curiae Egyptian Trotting Ass'n., Inc. et al.

Roland W. Burris, Atty. Gen., Springfield, (Rosalyn B. Kaplan, Sol. Gen., Paula Giroux, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Gary L. Starkman and Joseph J. Sinopoli, Special Asst. Attys. Gen., Chicago, of counsel) for appellee Illinois Racing Bd.

Jeremiah Marsh, William J. McKenna, Jr., E. Glenn Rippie and Robert R. Hall, Jr., Hopkins & Sutter, Chicago, Thomas Feehan, Rooks, Pitts & Poust, Joliet, for appellant Balmoral Racing Club, Inc.

Thomas A. Clancy and Dennis A. Rendleman, Springfield, for amicus curiae Illinois State Bar Ass'n.

Don K. Webb, Scott J. Szala, Frank H. Longrock and Darcy J. Bogenrief, Winston & Strawn, Chicago, for appellees Arlington Park Racetrack, Ltd. et al.

Robert K. Bush, Ancel, Glink, Diamond & Cope, P.C., Chicago, for amicus curiae South Suburban Mayors and Managers Assoc.

Justice CUNNINGHAM delivered the opinion of the court:

Appellants in this case, Balmoral Racing Club, Inc. (Balmoral), and Chicago Division of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, Inc. (the Horsemen's Association), separately initiated this action against numerous defendants to contest a decision rendered by the Illinois Racing Board (Board) pursuant to the Board's 1991 dates hearing. Their cases were consolidated for purposes of this appeal.

The decision of the Board denied Balmoral's request for thoroughbred racing dates in 1991. The circuit court of Will County reversed the decision of the Board and awarded Balmoral 62 thoroughbred racing dates during the summer of 1991. The appellate court reversed the decision of the circuit court. (214 Ill.App.3d 112, 157 Ill.Dec. 888, 573 N.E.2d 306.) We granted Balmoral's petition for leave to appeal to this court (134 Ill.2d R. 315). In the instant case, we reverse the judgments of the appellate and circuit courts, and remand this cause to the circuit court for action consistent with this opinion.

Before reviewing the facts giving rise to this action, it is helpful to address the identity of the parties involved. Balmoral is an organization whose principal place of business is Balmoral Park, located in Crete, Illinois. Balmoral is in the business of conducting horse races. The Horsemen's Association is a not-for-profit organization whose membership is comprised of owners or trainers of thoroughbred racehorses licensed to race in the United States or Puerto Rico.

The defendants were numerous and consisted of all participants in the 1991 dates hearing conducted by the Board. However, for purposes of this appeal, only Arlington Park Racetrack, Ltd., d/b/a Arlington International Racecourse, Ltd., and Washington Park Thoroughbred Racetrack, Ltd. (collectively, Arlington), and the Illinois Racing Board remain as appellees. (Hawthorne Race Course, Inc. (Hawthorne), did file a motion to dismiss this appeal due to mootness and did participate in the proceedings before the appellate court. However, in this action, Hawthorne did not file a response to Balmoral's petition for leave to appeal, did not brief any of the issues and did not participate in oral argument.

[177 Ill.Dec. 422] For all intents and purposes, Hawthorne is no longer a party to this appeal.)

The Board is an administrative agency whose actions are authorized and restricted by the Illinois Horse Racing Act of 1975 (the Racing Act) (Ill.Rev.Stat.1989, ch. 8, par. 37-1 et seq.). The Board is responsible for executing the mandates of this act, including assigning horse racing dates to the various racing entities requesting such and regulating the horse racing industry of Illinois.

The remaining defendants-appellees are entities responsible for conducting horse racing meetings in the State of Illinois. The principal place of business of the Arlington defendants is Arlington Racetrack, which is located in Cook County.

THE 1991 RACING DATES HEARING

The parties convened in Chicago on September 18, 1990, for purposes of conducting the 1991 dates hearing. During this meeting, racing dates to conduct thoroughbred and harness races in 1991 were to be assigned to various racing entities. The parties had been required to submit applications for racing dates to the Board no later than the end of August. These applications were ostensibly used to assist the Board in the award of racing dates.

In its application, Arlington requested dates for summer thoroughbred racing. Balmoral requested dates be awarded to it to conduct its own thoroughbred race meet during overlapping summer months. Balmoral also requested dates to hold harness races at Balmoral racetrack at other times of the year.

At 6 a.m. on September 18, 1990, the Board posted a proposed schedule of racing dates for 1991 along with a preliminary statement. This schedule did not include any thoroughbred racing dates to be conducted at Balmoral Park and instead awarded year-long harness racing to be conducted at the Balmoral track. A year-long harness racing meet was not requested by Balmoral.

The meeting began later that morning with the Board chairman reading the preliminary statement which was posted at 6 a.m. After disposing of preliminary matters, the Board invited representatives from various horsemen's associations to speak. The first speaker was a representative from the Horsemen's Association. The Horsemen's Association indicated a preference for racing at Balmoral, as Balmoral had exhibited a greater commitment to Illinois thoroughbred racing than had Arlington.

After several more speakers, the Board proceeded to admit into evidence, among other things, past dates orders establishing racing dates from as early as 1985, annual reports of the Board from the last five years, and an evidentiary submission from Balmoral. Additional evidence was presented to the Board and admitted into the record as the hearing progressed. This included admitting all the applications received from those requesting racing dates.

After admitting this evidence, the chairman asked a representative from each racing entity to address the Board's proposed schedule. The representatives were "sworn in" and their sworn statements became part of the record.

One of the first speakers was a representative from Arlington International Racecourse. Arlington indicated its willingness to accept the dates which the Board had assigned to it and the conditions which the Board had imposed upon Arlington. The Arlington representative then addressed the concerns expressed by the Horsemen's Association and indicated that it was Arlington's intention to provide racing opportunities for many Illinois horses, owners and trainers. The Board asked several more questions of the Arlington representative; the representative's answers all indicated Arlington's commitment to ensuring excellence in racing and providing quality horse races and its dedication to Illinois racing.

During the testimony provided by Arlington, the Board noted it had received a six-page statement from the representative and asked if the racetrack would like to have this statement made part of the record. The representative responded affirmatively.

[177 Ill.Dec. 423] This unsigned and unsworn statement alleges that contemporaneous races held at Balmoral the previous year had harmed Arlington revenues and races.

After testimony from Fairmount Park was presented, the representative from Hawthorne Race Course was asked to speak. The representative expressed consternation over the fact that Hawthorne was given the fewest number of days of racing, was given dates to race during the winter months, the "worst time of the year," and was given the fewest wagering opportunities. The representative exclaimed that the assignment of dates was not "fair." An amendment to the racing schedule was proposed by the representative which would give Hawthorne additional racing opportunities during better racing times.

The next speakers were representatives from Balmoral, who expressed their dissatisfaction with the proposed schedule, maintaining that the schedule as proposed would reduce its income by as much as one-third and would ultimately decrease State revenue. In rendering this opinion, the Balmoral representative stated, "I cannot believe that we are put in the position of fighting for our thoroughbred life without warning." Balmoral also addressed the issue of "short fields" (not having enough eligible horses to run particular races at certain tracks). The Balmoral representative contended that the problem of "short fields" was not caused by running races on the same days at both Balmoral and Arlington, as was suggested during the meeting, but was rather the product of a number of other factors beyond Balmoral's control, including the strict eligibility requirements which Arlington placed upon horses before they were allowed to participate in a particular race. The representative also addressed the reasons Arlington's handle was down the year before, presenting numerous reasons which, it was alleged, had all been previously noted by Arlington or other entities. ("Handle," in the racing industry, is generally recognized as referring to the total amount of money wagered.) Balmoral concluded that none of these reasons could be attributed to contemporaneous Balmoral race meets.

During their presentation, the Balmoral representatives indicated that they had become suspicious that the Board would deny Balmoral summer thoroughbred racing dates. Therefore, before the meeting had taken place, Balmoral requested of the Board...