Indiana Grand seeks to open for racing June 15

Indiana Grand racetrack in Shelbyville, Ind., will submit a proposal to the Indiana Horse Racing Commission asking for approval of a 90-day meet beginning June 15, a Monday, the track said Tuesday.

The mixed meet was initially scheduled to start April 14, but those plans were scuttled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Indiana Grand said that it still intended to close the meet Nov. 18, but that the track will change its live racing schedule to a Monday-through-Thursday lineup to take advantage of gaps on the weekly live wagering menu at a time when all betting in the United States continues to be conducted at home.

“The longer our season was delayed, the more clear it became that we needed to rethink the goals of the meet,” Eric Halstrom, general manager of the track, said in a press release. Halstrom did not immediately respond to a phone message Tuesday.

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The track’s first condition book and its stakes schedule will be released later this week, the track said. On Tuesday, Churchill Downs released a revised schedule of the races that will earn horses points toward eligibility for this year’s re-scheduled Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, and the Indiana Derby was placed on that schedule as a 34-point race, with 20 points going to the winner.

Purse levels at Indiana Grand are expected to be severely impacted by the mandatory closure of the track’s casino, which provided generous subsidies to the racing side of the operation. Indiana’s OTBs also have been ordered closed.

Indiana Grand had to close its backstretch at the time the state ordered businesses to shutter in mid-March, but it allowed 100 horses already on the grounds to continue to stable at the track. The track began accepting outside horses to the stable area Monday, and training is set to resume Wednesday.

The 2020 meet will consist of 86 days of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing, along with four days of Quarter Horse racing only.