Ellis Park on Tuesday received regulatory approval to begin its summer meet on Thursday July 2 rather than the previously scheduled Sunday June 28 opener. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission unanimously approved the change, which includes Churchill Downs extending its spring meet one day to close on June 28.
Ellis Park general manager Jeff Inman said the track had requested the delay to have more time to institute all the safety protocols involved with staging horse racing in the COVID-19 era. Ellis Park is making up for not running June 28 by adding July 2, a date it originally had not planned to run.
“It's win-win for everybody, including the state and Kentucky horsemen picking up an additional day of racing,” Inman said.
The dates adjustments are the latest amid the health emergency that forced Keeneland to cancel its spring meet and for Churchill Downs to open later than scheduled. Ellis Park now will run July 2-5, then be dark the following week to allow Keeneland to run July 8-12. Ellis Park then resumes its Friday-Sunday schedule on July 17, running through Aug. 30.
Ellis Park earlier gave Sept. 1-6 to Churchill Downs in order to let the Louisville track run a rescheduled Kentucky Derby Week, with the Derby on Sept. 5.
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