Fair Grounds puts turf racing on hold

There won’t be any turf racing at Fair Grounds until late December at the earliest, with plans to run a limited number of grass races on the outer portion of the turf course scrapped this week.

The Fair Grounds turf course, particularly the inner two-thirds of the oval, suffered compromising damage earlier this fall due to a confluence of weather-related factors. In early November, track officials announced alterations to the first condition book, moving several scheduled grass races to dirt. Initially, the plan was to run a handful of grass races each week with the temporary inner rail set at its outermost position, 28 feet from the inside. No grass races were carded the first two days of the meet, Nov. 18 and Nov. 19, but turf races already drawn for this week’s racing, starting Nov. 24, will be moved to the main track, and no grass races are likely to be carded for at least one month.

Fair Grounds sent out a release to horsemen Wednesday that said “turf racing will be suspended immediately.” Thursday morning, Gary Palmisano, executive director of racing for Fair Grounds’s parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., added a clarifying timeline saying that the decision was made “to halt grass racing until late in December.” Palmisano said the grass course was being managed with the goal of regaining full use of turf later in a meet that runs through March 26.

:: Save 20% on DRF PPs, Clocker Reports, and other handicapping essentials for a limited time

Problems with the course began with drought conditions in the area that necessitated regular watering, but the well that was used for turf irrigation had been corrupted with salt water, Palmisano said.

Regional drought has lowered the water level in the Mississippi River, which passes through New Orleans, to near-record levels. When the river doesn’t flow strongly enough, salt water from the Gulf of Mexico begins to run upstream and infiltrate the area’s fresh water supply. The increased salt content in the Fair Grounds well, which has been used without incident for more than 15 years, according to Palmisano, wasn’t detected until a significant portion of the course had been damaged.

Owners and trainers with grass horses stabled in New Orleans are understandably upset. They wonder why more notification and details regarding the problems weren’t disseminated earlier in the fall, and why the plan to run limited grass races was abandoned after the meet began.

Multiple sources unaffiliated with CDI or Fair Grounds said the change of course this week came after Dr. Will Farmer, equine medical director for CDI, visited New Orleans last week and examined the grass course. Farmer assumed his position at CDI three years ago and is tasked with “oversee[ing] equine safety and care at all CDI tracks,” according to the news release that accompanied his appointment.

It’s not just horsemen hurt by the absence of turf racing; the Fair Grounds racing office now faces the daunting task of filling cards without the aid of grass races that almost always attract more entries than dirt. The Dec. 1 card, drawn Wednesday, has eight races that drew a total of 63 entrants.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.