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Economy

QC Downs Closing

Arlington International Racecourse

Forty years after it opened, and 20 years after live racing ended, a former harnes racing track in East Moline is finally going to close. Late last week, the owner of the Quad City Downs announced the off-track betting parlor will close on January 31st.

The Downs opened in 1973, and Mayor John Thodos says the advent of riverboat gambling in the early 90's killed live racing. 

When the Downs opened in 1973, he said it hosted a more "family friendly" type of gambling. 

JTHOD2.mp3
I remember as a kid petting the horses and talking to the jockies.

Arlington International Racecourse bought the Downs in 1988, and ended live harness racing in 1993. 

Since then a school and FedEx terminal have been built on part of the property, and Thodos estimates there are about 40 acres left that could be re-developed.
 East Moline won't lose much revenue when it closes - just a few thousand dollars a year in property taxes, sales taxes, and water and sewer fees.  

Arlington International Racecourse, has set the closing for January 31st. 
 

A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.