Ayr Meeting Abandoned

Wednesday’s meeting at Ayr was abandoned after the fourth race after heavy rain was found to have caused patches of false ground. The Scottish track had received more than an inch of rain on Tuesday and it continued to fall during the afternoon on Wednesday, causing conditions to deteriorate.

“Jockeys came in after the third race and reported they felt a bit of false ground,” Clerk of the Course Graeme Anderson told Racing TV. “We had a look but it just seemed to be a wetter area, a heavier patch. They came back in after race four and reported a couple of areas, one about the furlong-and-a-half mark and one about just the half-furlong. We had a look. They were pretty deep holes, just really heavy ground. We’d had eight millimetres since 12:30 [Wednesday] on top of 28mm [Tuesday]. It’s been relentless so it’s taken its toll.”

The card’s last five races were abandoned.

“It’s right in the centre,” Anderson added. “We looked at trying to run the races on the round course and abandon the sprint race, but there’s a fear you can’t avoid it during a race. It was better to be safe than sorry.

“It’s an area where we’ve never had a problem before. It just seems to be wetter than others and just holding water and the holes are starting to fill with the rain coming down. It’s going to ride false. I’m hoping it’s just a case of the amount of rain we’ve had and it’s nothing more than that, but we will definitely be investigating and see what caused it and see what it’s looking like. It’s two weeks on Monday for our next meeting and then the Gold Cup meeting about three and a half weeks after that.”

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Ellis Cancels Final Five Races Saturday

Following the fourth race Saturday at Ellis Park, heavy rain swept into Henderson, Ky., forcing the track to cancel the final five races on the card. Rain the night before had already caused Saturday’s turf races to be taken off the grass.

“In the best interest of safety for our jockeys and horses, we are calling off the remainder of the Saturday racing program,” said Ellis Park general manager Jeff Inman. “The rain is supposed to let up this evening, and the forecast calls for beautiful weather for Sunday’s Kentucky Downs Preview Day.”

Sunday’s card, which features five turf stakes for Kentucky Downs Preview Day, is scheduled to be held as planned.

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Ellis Park Cancels After Fourth Race; Forecast Good For Sunday’s Kentucky Downs Preview Day

Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., canceled the remainder of Saturday's card after a deluge of rain swept into the area following the fourth race. Sunday's racing program, the Kentucky Downs Preview Day featuring five turf stakes, will go on as scheduled, track officials said.

“In the best interest of safety for our jockeys and horses, we are calling off the remainder of the Saturday racing program,” said Ellis Park general manager Jeff Inman. “The rain is supposed to let up this evening, and the forecast calls for beautiful weather for Sunday's Kentucky Downs Preview Day. Track superintendent Javier Barajas is the best in the business, and we have full confidence that our quick-draining turf course will be in great shape for our five grass stakes.”

Saturday's turf races were taken off the grass earlier in the morning because of overnight rain.

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Colonial Downs Postpones Monday’s Opening-Day Card Due To Extreme Heat

Colonial Downs has postponed Monday's opening-day card prompted by dangerous heat conditions with heat index forecasts over 100 degrees.

The change is to safeguard the health of people working, along with horses shipping and racing during these conditions.  Monday's races will be re-carded for Sunday, August 2, and horsemen will need to re-enter on Tuesday, July 28.

Colonial Downs revised opening day features a nine-race card planned for Tuesday, July 28, with a post time of 5:30 p.m. ET.

Under a spectator-free designation, fans are encouraged to tune into the TVG Network to watch live racing from Colonial Downs and wager via tvg.com; twinspires.com; xpressbet.com; and nyrabets.com.

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