Charles Town halts racing

Racing at Charles Town Races in West Virginia has been canceled indefinitely as the track conducts repairs of its racing surface, a spokesman for the track's owner, Penn National Gaming Inc., said Monday.

"We found some wet spots on the track, so we closed it as a precautionary measure," said the spokesman, Eric Schippers. The wet spots were making portions of the racing surface "uneven," Schippers said.

Charles Town canceled racing last Wednesday to begin repairs, then suffered a setback when the remnants of Hurricane Ivan passed through Friday. Racing was also canceled over the weekend.

Charles Town recently completed an extensive overhaul of its racing surface, including the installation of a new drainage system.

The track plans to make up the races it has lost over the course of the year, Schippers said.