Closing weekend turf racing called off; Wise Dan Stakes scrapped

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs officials announced Tuesday that the four turf stakes scheduled for closing weekend will not be run as had been hoped, citing continuing problems with its new $10 million turf course.

Training over the Bermuda-hybrid course was permitted Tuesday morning for the first time in nearly three weeks – including four official workouts timed by the Churchill clockers – but afterward, it was decided not to hold racing over a course that has been problematic since it was first used April 30, opening night of the spring meet.

The Grade 2 Wise Dan will not be run Saturday, while two other Saturday races scheduled for turf, the American Derby and Tepin, will be run on the main track. Likewise, the Anchorage moves from the turf to the main track Sunday.

Mike Anderson, Churchill racetrack president, said in a prepared release that turf racing was canceled “to allow the root system on the new course to continue to develop,” further adding that the course “continues to mature each day, and its development has benefited from the warm climate and 2 1/2-week rest, but it’s not where we want it to be just yet. Additional time is needed for the course to become more robust and we’ll give it time.”

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Churchill tore out its old turf course following the 2021 spring-summer meeting to install a $10 million course. However, following widespread complaints by horsemen about loose footing and unusually large divots over the course, turf racing was abruptly halted after a 3-year-old colt named Gingrich suffered a fatal breakdown in deep stretch of the second race June 10.

Churchill racing secretary Ben Huffman had expressed confidence Sunday that the four turf stakes would be run this weekend, but the plan was scrapped following the Tuesday training moves. Two of the workers were Just Might and Change of Control, both of them multiple winners of turf-sprint stakes for trainer Michelle Lovell.

Officials remain confident that the Arlington Million and other turf races to be run Aug. 13 at Churchill should find the course in even better shape.

The possibility of moving those races to a different venue “hasn't even been discussed,” said Huffman.