Calder nears power restoral

The president of Calder Race Course, Ken Dunn, said Thursday he was still hopeful live and simulcasting racing could resume at Calder on Saturday. Calder has been closed since suffering extensive damage from Hurricane Wilma on Monday.

"Everything is contingent on getting power restored," Dunn said Thursday. "But we have an assurance from Florida Power and Light that they have located the problem, that it should be a six- to eight-hour job to repair, and that they will have a crew out here sometime today to do the work."

Dunn said a final decision on whether to open Saturday will not be made until early Friday afternoon.

"If power is restored, we will definitely open for simulcasting," said Dunn. "We still have a few repair issues to address regarding live racing."

Dunn said the main track would reopen for training on Friday morning.

"The main track will be open from 7 to 10 a.m., while the training track will continue to be open from 7 to 11:30 a.m.," said Dunn.

Calder is slowly trying to get back to normal following Hurricane Wilma, a Category 3 hurricane that ripped off the roofs of many barns and littered the backside with debris.

"It's amazing what our people and the workers we've hired from among the grooms and hot walkers on the backstretch have accomplished in just a few short days to clean up the barn area," said Dunn.