Turf racing at Churchill will be limited to stakes until end of meet
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Racing secretary Ben Huffman said early this week that the suspension of turf racing at Churchill “has actually allowed the course to begin to thrive” and that the four turf stakes scheduled for the coming weekend will be held as scheduled. Besides the three Saturday turf stakes, the Anchorage will be run Sunday. They will be the only turf races through meet’s end.
Horses were to work or gallop over the course Tuesday morning as a test for the weekend, Huffman said.
Churchill tore out its old turf course following the 2021 spring-summer meeting and installed a $10 million Bermuda-hybrid course, first used for racing on April 30. Following widespread complaints by horsemen about loose footing and unusually large divots over the course, turf racing was abruptly halted after a 3-year-old colt named Gingrich suffered a fatal breakdown in deep stretch of the second race June 10.
“We’ve given the grass time enough to heal and to let it grow,” Huffman said. “We’ve had a number of experts out here giving us their approval. The heat actually has been good for the type of grass that’s been laid down. We’re seeing it grow before our eyes.”
Huffman said a six-week break up to the Arlington Million and other turf races to be run Aug. 13 at Churchill should find the course in even better shape. The possibility of moving those races to a different venue “hasn’t even been discussed,” he said.
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