Firm turf looking unlikely for Breeders' Cup

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Keeneland turf course could easily be rated soft for the Breeders’ Cup grass races Friday and Saturday if mid-week rain falls as forecast, according to Keeneland track superintendent Javier Barajas.

Grass racing was canceled on Saturday, the final day of Keeneland’s regular fall meet, because the course already was wet and Barajas feared more rain would fall during the card. It has remained cloudy and damp with intermittent drizzle here since Saturday, and the National Weather Service forecast predicts as much as two inches of rain between Monday night and Wednesday night.

“I’d say it’s yielding right now,” Barajas said late Monday morning. “If we get the rain, we’ll probably have to go to soft. It’s not far from it now. It just doesn’t dry very much. It would help if we got good winds, but we’re not getting any, and its overcast every day.”

Barajas said that even with minimal rain and decent drying conditions the turf course was all but certain to be rated something less than firm Friday and Saturday, even though it's a sand-based course that drains quickly. “I don’t think firm is going to be possible, even if we put rollers on the turf course,” he said.

There is fresh ground that’s been protected by a temporary rail along the inside of the course, but the section of the courser that has been used this month is surprisingly chewed up, given the brevity of the meet. That deterioration traces to opening weekend, when grass races were conducted on a course that took significant rainfall following an extended dry period.