Presque Isle cancels closing-day card due to 'terroristic threat'

Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Penn., canceled the final card of its meet on Thursday after the track received a “credible terroristic threat” against the track’s riders just hours prior to first post time, according to multiple backstretch sources.

The threat was made in a telephone call to the track mid-morning on Thursday, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified because of potential backlash from track management. Track officials then convened with local police before deciding to cancel the card out of an abundance of caution, according to one of the sources.

“This is the age we live in,” the source said. “You have to take everything seriously.”

The source said that police and track officials did not know a motivation for the threat. The police said they will fully investigate the threat, the source said.

Officials for Presque Isle did not respond to messages on Thursday.

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Tonya Abeln, a spokesperson for Churchill Downs, Presque Isle’s parent company, said on Thursday afternoon that she could not confirm the reason for the cancellation “due to an ongoing investigation into the matter” but said that “the decision to cancel live racing today at Presque Isle Downs was made in the interest of safety.”

Presque Isle had nine races carded for Thursday, the final day of its 2022 meet. The track is not expected to open again for live racing until May of 2023.

According to one of the sources, track officials have discussed making payments to the connections of horses who were entered to race on the card, though the payments will likely be approximately $1,000.

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