In historic move, Churchill Downs moves spring meet, cancels races in wake of horse deaths

FRED. HEY, GUYS. HELLO AGAIN, EVERYBODY. RACING STOPS AT CHURCHILL DOWNS THIS SUNDAY NIGHT WITH THE GOAL OF NOT OPENING AGAIN UNTIL IT CAN RESTORE ITS REPUTATION AS LIKELY THE SAFEST TRACK IN THE SPORT. I MEAN, WHEN WE HEAR THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT WE’RE GOING TO MOVE THE THE MEET CHURCHILL MEET ELLIS PARK FIRST, YOU YOU WANT TO THINK OF THE POSITIVE AND THAT WE’RE DOING THIS FOR THE BEST INTEREST OF THE HORSES UNTIL WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT’S GOING ON. AND SO FAR, THAT ANSWER IS ELUSIVE FOR LOUISVILLE TRAINER TOM VAN BERG AND FOR CHURCHILL DOWNS. THE ONLY COMMONALITIES IN THE 12 HORSE DEATHS HAVE BEEN THE LOCATION AND THE ONLY CHANGES A NEW TURF COURSE AND A NEW FIRST TURN GRANDSTAND, WHICH REQUIRED HEAVY CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT WHICH MIGHT HAVE COMPROMISED THOSE SURFACES. IF IT IS A TRACK, LET’S TAKE THAT OUT OF THE EQUATION AND THEN SEE IF WE CHANGE. IF IT CHANGES IT FOR THE BETTER, THEN WE’RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THEN WE KNOW IT’S A TRACK AND LET’S FIGURE THAT OUT. IF IT DOESN’T, THEN WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE MORE ISSUES TO ADDRESS. SO I THINK WE’RE JUST, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY RIGHT NOW IS TRYING TO DO THE DECISION, MAKE THE DECISION THAT’S BEST FOR THE HORSES. FOR RACING ON FRIDAY. AND DURING THIS MEET ALSO INCLUDES EVOLVED AND MORE RESTRICTIVE MEDICATION RULES, WHICH COULD EXPOSE HORSES WITH MODEST COMMON ACHES AND PAINS TO INCREASED RISKS. ANYTHING WE KNOW RIGHT NOW IS DOING THE RIGHT THING. I DON’T THINK WE’VE FIGURED OUT WHY WHY THE HORSES ARE HAVING ISSUES AND THEY’RE ALL DIFFERENT ISSUES. SO THERE’S NO COMMON FACTOR ON ANY OF THEM. I MEAN, THERE’S BEEN HORSES THAT HAVE ISSUES ON THE TURF. THERE’S BEEN HORSES THAT ISSUE ON THE DIRT. YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF THEM THEY’VE INCLUDED IN THERE THAT HAD HEART ATTACKS THAT I MEAN, THAT’S A VERY ABNORMAL OCCURRENCE. YOU DON’T SEE THAT VERY OFTEN. THERE WAS ONE THAT FLIPPED OVER IN THE PADDOCK. SO, I MEAN, ALL ARE INCLUSIVE AND NONE OF THEM WE WANT TO HAVE. BUT WE’VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, THE ONES WE’RE ADDRESSING ARE THE ONES THAT ARE HAPPENING ON THE TRACK. SO CHURCHILL IS SHUTTING DOWN RACING ULTIMATELY BECAUSE THIS IS AN UNSUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODEL. IT’S A VERY BAD LOOK WHICH HAS HURT FAN INTEREST AND HAS FUELED CRITICS CALLING FOR AN END TO THE SPORT. YOU CAN’T GO THROUGH CLUSTERS LIKE THIS AND EXPECT THINGS TO STAY THE SAME STATUS QUO. YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHY IT IS AND MAKE THOSE CHANGES. THERE ARE STILL MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS, LIKE IF CHURCHILL’S DANGEROUS ENOUGH TO CLOSE, WHY IS THERE STILL RACING THERE TOMORROW AND SUNDAY? AND WHY WILL TRAINING CONTINUE THERE EVEN AFTER LIVE RACING IS STOPPED? CHURCHILL HAS CANCELED ITS RACE STARTS NEXT WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, AND THEY WILL NOT BE MADE UP AND CHURCHILL WILL PAY A STIPEND TO THE CONNECTIONS OF HORSES WHO RUN AT ELLIS. STARTING IN JUST EIGHT DAYS. CHURCH CHURCHILL’S RACE DATES AT ELLIS WILL RUN THE NEXT FOUR WE

Churchill Downs is making a more serious move in the wake of horse deaths: canceling some races and moving the spring meet to another track.Churchill Downs said that the track will go dark after Sunday racing.Races scheduled for next Wednesday through Friday have been canceled, and won't be made up.Then, on June 10, races will move to Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky for the rest of the spring meet. That track is about two hours away from Louisville. We're told the races at Ellis Park will have the same conditions and purse money that they would’ve at Churchill Downs, and trainers, jockeys, etc., will get a stipend for extra costs.One trainer tells us some horses will remain at Churchill Downs and be shuttled to Ellis Park for racing. Others will move to the other park if they choose.Friday's announcement signals the severity of the horse death problem, as well as the challenge to reconcile it. Twelve horses have died at the track since April.So far, officials have not been able to identify a commonality between the deaths, apart from where they happened.But when track officials brought in an expert to examine the track, they said nothing unusual was found. Churchill Downs added some new measures on Thursday including pausing track-based incentives, restricting the number of starts per horse and making poor performers ineligible.The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has been involved and offered even more recommendations after that like having more post-entry screening and more blood and hair samples for the horses.HISA were the ones who recommended the suspension of races at Churchill Downs, with the racetrack accepting it.Dennis Moore, the track surface expert brought in by HISA, completed his review of Churchill Downs early on Friday and reported them to the authority.Moore's inspection found no primary areas for concern, and HISA said that he verified his findings with previous years metrics to make sure they were consistent.Here's what Moore examined:The cushioning on the track was found to be consistent with previous pre-meet inspections performed by the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory.Previous data collected by RSTL on the cushion layer of the track was found similar and there were no anomalies to raise concern.Moore found that Churchill Downs' daily measurements and RSTL's pre-meet inspection determining moisture and cushion depth were within the expected range compared to previous years.Moore and RSTL performed surface grade measurements and verified the percent crossfall was similar to the pre-meet inspection from RSTL.Dirt samples were collected from the surface from around the track and sent to RSTL's lab in Lexington, which found they were consistent with previous years.The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission said Friday that purses will be limited to first through fifth place finishers, a move Churchill Downs had made Thursday.Races went on as scheduled Friday, the first at 12:47 p.m. The last of the day is at 4:55 p.m.Racing will also continue as scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.The meet is scheduled to end July 3.With this move to Ellis Park, 21 race days at Churchill Downs will be canceled. This includes big draws like Belmont, Father’s Day, Downs after Dark, Twilight racing, etc.Previous stories:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

Churchill Downs is making a more serious move in the wake of horse deaths: canceling some races and moving the spring meet to another track.

Churchill Downs said that the track will go dark after Sunday racing.

Races scheduled for next Wednesday through Friday have been canceled, and won't be made up.

Then, on June 10, races will move to Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky for the rest of the spring meet. That track is about two hours away from Louisville.

We're told the races at Ellis Park will have the same conditions and purse money that they would’ve at Churchill Downs, and trainers, jockeys, etc., will get a stipend for extra costs.

One trainer tells us some horses will remain at Churchill Downs and be shuttled to Ellis Park for racing. Others will move to the other park if they choose.

Friday's announcement signals the severity of the horse death problem, as well as the challenge to reconcile it.

Twelve horses have died at the track since April.

So far, officials have not been able to identify a commonality between the deaths, apart from where they happened.

But when track officials brought in an expert to examine the track, they said nothing unusual was found.

Churchill Downs added some new measures on Thursday including pausing track-based incentives, restricting the number of starts per horse and making poor performers ineligible.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has been involved and offered even more recommendations after that like having more post-entry screening and more blood and hair samples for the horses.

HISA were the ones who recommended the suspension of races at Churchill Downs, with the racetrack accepting it.

Dennis Moore, the track surface expert brought in by HISA, completed his review of Churchill Downs early on Friday and reported them to the authority.

Moore's inspection found no primary areas for concern, and HISA said that he verified his findings with previous years metrics to make sure they were consistent.

Here's what Moore examined:

The cushioning on the track was found to be consistent with previous pre-meet inspections performed by the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory.
Previous data collected by RSTL on the cushion layer of the track was found similar and there were no anomalies to raise concern.
Moore found that Churchill Downs' daily measurements and RSTL's pre-meet inspection determining moisture and cushion depth were within the expected range compared to previous years.
Moore and RSTL performed surface grade measurements and verified the percent crossfall was similar to the pre-meet inspection from RSTL.
Dirt samples were collected from the surface from around the track and sent to RSTL's lab in Lexington, which found they were consistent with previous years.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission said Friday that purses will be limited to first through fifth place finishers, a move Churchill Downs had made Thursday.

Races went on as scheduled Friday, the first at 12:47 p.m. The last of the day is at 4:55 p.m.

Racing will also continue as scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

The meet is scheduled to end July 3.

With this move to Ellis Park, 21 race days at Churchill Downs will be canceled. This includes big draws like Belmont, Father’s Day, Downs after Dark, Twilight racing, etc.

Previous stories:

In historic move, Churchill Downs moves spring meet, cancels races in wake of horse deaths

GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS

Top Picks