Churchill Downs delays stable opening to April 28

Churchill Downs has once again delayed the opening of its stable area at both its Louisville track and its nearby training center, the track announced Tuesday.

The stables areas are now scheduled to open April 28, but Kevin Flanery, the track’s president, cautioned that the scheduling remains a “fluid situation” due to widespread disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Churchill was originally scheduled to open its backstretch on March 17, in anticipation of the spring meet starting April 25, but the track still has not announced any plans for live racing. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has asked businesses to stay in holding patterns as the state attempts to limit the spread of the virus.

“We’re following the lead of the governor and public health officials, who are giving us advice and counsel on what to expect over time, and every decision we make is made in compliance with those recommendations,” Flanery said in a press release. “We remain hopeful that our horsemen and their horses will be able to return as soon as possible. Our team will be ready to open under the relevant guidance we are given when the time is right.”

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Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington also has closed its backstretch to new horses, and that track has already canceled its entire spring meet. Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky, which is owned by Churchill, cancelled its remaining race days in late March.

Churchill noted that its spring meet annually attracts horses from around the country as part of the reason it was delaying the opening of its backstretch. The backstretch had been closed to horses as of Dec. 31 in order to conduct renovations.

Fair Grounds stays open for stabling, training

Fair Grounds, which had its 2019-20 race meet curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic after the Louisiana Derby card on March 21, will remain open indefinitely for stabling and training, Jason Boulet, the track’s director of racing, said Tuesday morning.

“We just announced we’re going to train five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday with Mondays off, published works on Saturday,” Boulet said.

The news comes directly after Churchill Downs announced Tuesday it’s stabling area won’t be open until at least April 28. Churchill Downs Inc. owns both Churchill and Fair Grounds as well as Arlington in suburban Chicago. Arlington has delayed indefinitely the opening of its stabling area as well as the start of its 2020 racing season, which had been set to begin May 1.

A majority of Fair Grounds-based horses that don’t stay year-round in Louisiana would normally have headed north to Kentucky and Chicago following the end of the New Orleans racing season. Those horses for the most part now have no sure place to go were Fair Grounds to close. The track late last month had released a training schedule running through April 7 and now will stay open as long as required.

“It’s a team effort with Churchill,” Boulet said. “As long as we need to have horses here, we’ll have them here. They’ve told me to just keep rolling and do what we’re doing.”

– additional reporting by Marcus Hersh