Triple-digit forecast prompts Churchill Downs to cancel
racing
With weather forecasts calling for near-record triple-digit heat, officials
at Churchill Downs Racetrack have decided to cancel the track’s live racing
program scheduled for Thursday.
The cancelled Thursday racing card included nine races with a scheduled post
time of 12:45 p.m. (EDT). It was to have been the first of four racing programs
set for the final week of the track’s spring meet, which will conclude on
Sunday. Simulcast wagering on tracks from around North America will be offered
at Churchill in the track’s clubhouse. Admission gates will open at 11:30 a.m.
With Thursday’s cancellation, Churchill Downs has three racing days remaining
in its spring meet:
Friday — an 11-race twilight program with a post time of 2:45 p.m.;
Saturday — an 11-race “Downs After Dark” night racing program with 6 p.m. post;
Sunday — a “Closing Day” program for the 138th Spring Meet with 10 races
scheduled.
Churchill Downs Racetrack President Kevin Flanery said his track team
consulted with National Weather Service forecasters before making its decision
to cancel Thursday’s racing, and would continue to do so while assessing the
status of the three remaining racing programs during what forecasters predict
will be several days of extreme heat in the region.
“Our first priority on any day at Churchill Downs is the health and safety of
the human and equine participants in our sport, and Thursday’s forecast called
for a triple-digit, possible record-high temperature under an afternoon sun,”
Flanery said. “We know how important these races and their purses are to our
owners and trainers, but the health and safety issues convinced us this was the
proper call for Thursday’s program.”
Weather-related cancellations of races at Churchill Downs are rare, but the
ongoing spring meet is the second consecutive spring racing session to lose a
day to weather issues. One day of racing was cancelled in 2011 after a tornado
roared through the Churchill Downs stable area and damaged several barns on June
22. No horses or humans were injured by the tornado, but racing set for the
following day was cancelled.
Churchill Downs will contact groups and individual patrons who had purchased
seating for the racing program on Thursday to reschedule their visit.
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