9/16/11
Last updated: 9/15/11 2:59 PM
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Trainer Steve Margolis checked out Barn 23, the most severely damaged of the tornado stricken backstretch
(Reed Palmer Photography/Churchill Downs) |
Fewer than three months after a tornado roared the stable area at historic
Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, restoration and repair work on barns
damaged by the storm’s winds is complete and horses are moving into those
structures to prepare for competition during the track’s upcoming fall meet,
which is scheduled for October 30 through November 27
Churchill Downs had established a target date of September 15 for the
completion of the barn repairs, and crews from Louisville-based Hall Contracting
accomplished that task. The project included major repairs on 6 1/2 barns that
were deemed uninhabitable by city safety officials following the storm that hit
the track on the evening of June 22.
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Despite the major damage inflicted by the storm, no injuries to horses or
humans were attributed to the tornado and the track missed only one day of
racing in its aftermath.
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Margolis trainees have already settled back into the restored Barn 23
(Reed Palmer Photography/Churchill Downs) |
National Weather Service officials in Louisville said the Churchill Downs
tornado packed top winds of 105 miles-per-hour as it tore through the stables
and significantly damaged a group of barns constructed in the 1940s. The tornado
was rated as an F1 storm on the Fujita Scale, the official classification system
for tornado damage.
The storm caused approximately $1 to $1.5 million in damage The structures
impacted the most were Barns 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 40 and 5, as well as the stable
area’s chapel.
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“This is a very special day for Churchill Downs, our horsemen and all who
felt the impact of the tornado that hit our track on an evening that five of
those storms took Kentucky and Southern Indiana by surprise,” Churchill Downs
Racetrack President Kevin Flanery said. “We continue to consider the fact that
no horses or humans were injured in the tornado to be miraculous, but the
completion of repair work on our damaged barns during a very narrow window of
time is also remarkable.
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An outside view of the newly re-opened Barn 23
(Reed Palmer Photography/Churchill Downs) |
“A long list of partners headed by Louisville’s Hall Contracting, Luckett &
Farley architects, our horsemen and our Churchill Downs team made major
contributions to this effort and worked hard to make the goal of getting horses
back into these barns by September 15 a reality.
“We thank those partners and every individual, public agency, and the
many community and church groups that reached out to offer help to our
track and support the individuals impacted by the tornado in the hours
after the storm and during the following weeks and months that led to
this special day.”
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Flanery also thanked the Louisville Metro Police Department, Louisville Fire
Department, Louisville Gas & Electric (LG & E), the Kentucky Horse Racing
Commission and representatives of the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau for
their contributions to the recovery effort in the hours following the surprise
storm.
