Gulfstream cancels after race 6 due to rain

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.- Saturday's live racing program at Gulfstream Park was canceled after the sixth race because of unsafe track conditions brought about by steady rains that struck the area just before the running of the first race. Among the four races canceled was the Grade 2, $200,000 Shirley Jones Handicap.

The cancellation was the second of a racing card already in progress during the meet. Racing was canceled after the first race on Feb. 15 due to heavy rains.

"The safety of horse and rider are always of paramount concern to us, and once again conditions were such that the only prudent course of action was to cancel the remainder of the card," said Bernie Hettel, racing operations manager at Gulfstream.

A decision on the status of the Shirley Jones will be made during the next week.

Sugar Swirl would have been heavily favored to add the seven-furlong Shirley Jones to her earlier victories this winter in the Grade 3 First Lady and Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie stakes. Sugar Swirl is owned by Frank Stronach, the chairman of Magna Entertainment Corporation, which owns Gulfstream Park.