Indiana Grand faces stiff competition for horses

Indiana Grand Racecourse commences its 2015 racing season Tuesday, with a new summer date for the Indiana Derby, an attractive and stable purse structure – and one nagging issue that won’t go away.

If the land on which Indiana Grand sits had a small mountain and the day were sufficiently clear, a person could spy several competing racing venues off in the distance. The region is flush with them.

“They talk about the Atlantic Coast being tough, but look at the tracks in the region here racing in May and June,” said Kevin Greely, director of racing. “There are six tracks within four hours of this place. We’ll have some short fields.”

All things considered, though, Indiana Grand does fairly well. The track averaged 8.17 starters per race during its 2014 meet, though that was down from 8.6 in 2013. Indiana-bred races fill better, especially maiden races, which typically boast full fields, and the state’s breeding industry has been steadily expanding and improving in recent years.

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Indiana Grand has been the solo act in terms of Indiana Thoroughbred racing for two seasons now, since Hoosier Park went all-Standardbred in 2013. The Indiana Grand 2014 meet got a late start, launching May 6 because of circumstances particular to last season. The dirt track had been redone, and storm drainage for new barns was being routed to the infield lake, rendering the turf course unusable until later in the summer. There are no turf races in this meet’s first condition book, but that runs just 14 days, and the grass is in excellent shape for the meet, Greely said.

The dirt track also had settled down by the end of last season, the very dead rail that affected racing throughout June giving way to a more fair-playing surface.

“It was loose down on the inside for a while, but we corrected that,” said Greely.

Outside post positions wound up being superior in main-track sprints last year. Posts 1 and 2 had the lowest strike rate of any starting spot in one-turn races, though two-turn races showed no such slant.

Favorites had a good 2014, winning 37 percent of the time on dirt and 38 percent on turf. During the 2013 meet, chalk won main-track races even more frequently, 39 percent.

Several barns with a healthy number of starters ended the 2014 meet with a positive return on investment on win bets, including brand-name trainers like Steve Asmussen ($2.20) and Mike Maker ($2.22). Wayne Mogge was the ROI king last year at $3.25. Trainers Gary Patrick ($1.35), Tim Glyshaw ($1.17), Mike Lauer ($1.02), and Paul Holthus ($1.17) won their share of races, but often at deflated odds.

Roger Brueggemann, who trains for Midwest Thoroughbreds, has stalls at the track for the first time and should be a regular participant.

The Indiana Grand backstretch is small, capable of housing 868 horses, so many starters ship in to run. The track will have another 100-horse barn operational before the 2016 meet.

Overnight purses will be paid at the same rate as in 2014, about $220,000 per day on average. The track’s signature race, the Indiana Derby, has a new home, moved from October to July 18.

“We struggled with the weather every year, and we think the race is a bit better placed to get horses coming off the Triple Crown and before Saratoga,” Greely said.

The meet runs through Oct. 31, mainly with four-day race weeks comprising cards on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Thursday racing will be added the last six weeks. Weekday cards start at 2:05 Eastern, Saturdays at 6:05.