Dirt races moved to turf at Ellis Park after tractor damages inner rail

Because the inner rail on the main track incurred damage, two of the last four races Friday at Ellis Park (races 5 and 7) were switched to the turf course. The other two remaining races already were scheduled for the turf.

Track spokeswoman Jennie Rees said a safety issue became apparent when, during a routine resurfacing, a tractor accidentally ran into the rail about 100 yards from the wire, damaging it. Whether main-track races could be run Saturday and Sunday was still to be determined as of late Friday afternoon.

The transferring of races from turf to dirt because of weather or other reasons is commonplace, whereas this reverse type of switch is rare indeed and believed to be a first at Ellis.