Charles Town: After three straight cancellations, racing may resume Friday night

Officials at Charles Town are optimistic live racing will resume Friday night after three consecutive cancellations this week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday due to weather-related track issues.

Erich Zimny, vice president of racing operations, explained that the combination of rain, followed by sub-freezing temperatures, made things difficult to conduct a safe racing program.

“You just have to be a little careful with the surface when the moisture we got is followed up with the low temperatures we’ve had,” Zimny said Thursday. “It’s not so much the moisture or cold in isolation as it is both of them. There’s obviously a lot of time between now and then, but we currently intend to run tomorrow night. We may have been able to race tonight, but wanted to make sure the next card we run has a good chance of being taken from start to finish.”

The forecast calls for sunny weather on Friday, with a high temperature of 39, dropping to 29 overnight. The reprieve may be short-lived, however. Snow and rain are forecast for Charles Town during the morning and afternoon on Saturday.