Churchill cancels Wednesday racing due to heat wave

With the Midwest in the grips of a brutal heat wave, Wednesday’s eight-race program at Churchill Downs has been canceled because of excessive heat.

A National Weather Service excessive heat warning for Louisville, Ky., is effect until Wednesday at 9 p.m. Eastern. Heat index values of 105 to 109 are forecast for Wednesday.

Simulcast wagering is also canceled for Wednesday at Churchill Downs, where weather-related cancellations are rare. This is the first time weather has scrapped activity at the track since a June 2016 card when the final race of the day was canceled due to lightning.

There have been 22 documented weather-related cancellations in track history, and now two due to extreme heat, with Wednesday's card joining the card of June 28, 2012.

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Wednesday's eight-race card, drawn last Friday prior to Churchill's Saturday announcement of the suspension of turf racing, was to have been highlighted by a $141,000 allowance/optional-claiming event for turf fillies and mares, which would have been moved to the main track.

Racing at Churchill Downs is scheduled to resume Thursday with an evening card that begins at 5 p.m., although track officials will continue to monitor the forecast.