Churchill Downs cancels Thursday card due to heat

Churchill Downs has canceled its Thursday evening card due to a continuing heat wave in the Midwest, which had already caused the track to scrap its Wednesday card.

A National Weather Service excessive heat warning for portions of Indiana – where Horseshoe Indianapolis canceled its Tuesday and Wednesday cards – and Kentucky remains in effect until Wednesday at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Belterra Park and Thistledown in Ohio also canceled their Wednesday cards, as heat index values of 102 to 107 were forecasted. Belterra also has canceled racing for Thursday.

Mountaineer, in West Virginia, canceled racing on Wednesday.

Thursday’s forecast for Louisville, Ky., calls for temperatures in the high 90s with 54 percent humidity, part of a combination prompting Churchill’s cancellation.

Simulcast operations will be open Thursday at Churchill Downs, where the two weather-related cancellations in one week are an anomaly. This week marks 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 now been 23 documented weather-related cancellations in track history, just three due to extreme heat, with this week's card joining the card of June 28, 2012.

Racing at Churchill Downs is now scheduled to resume Friday with a nine-race card set to begin at 12:45 p.m., although track officials will continue to monitor the forecast.