Forecast temperatures and the heat index are expected to exceed 105 degrees in central Indiana on August 28. Horseshoe Indianapolis proactively cancels the racing program, which was scheduled to begin at 2:10 p.m. ET at the height of the extreme heat.
“We have been closely monitoring temperatures and heat indices all week,” said Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager. “The weather service just issued a renewed warning for Wednesday, putting the heat index in an unsafe category. We want to be proactive and inform all horse and racing fans of the decision to cancel racing today so everyone has plenty of time to adjust their plans for Wednesday.”
Horseshoe Indianapolis racing officials worked closely with the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse equestrian organizations to make the right decisions for the racing program. The recommendation to cancel was a mutual decision by all groups. Horseshoe Indianapolis will work to add more races to next week’s program to provide additional racing opportunities for all equestrians.
“Our human and equine athletes always come first when it comes to safety, so it is important that we act quickly when such unsafe conditions are forecast,” Halstrom added. “We will continue to monitor the forecast, but we should be able to run our racing program scheduled for Thursday, August 29, beginning at 2:10 p.m. However, we will speak with our riding groups as that day approaches and re-evaluate the decision if necessary.”
Delaware Park and Kentucky Downs adjust tee times
The heat wave has also led to Delaware Park And Kentucky Downs to make changes to scheduled release times during the week.
Register for Bloodhorse Daily
Because the National Weather Service is also predicting a heat index of 40 degrees in Delaware on Wednesday afternoon, Delaware Park has moved the start of the first race forward by an hour to 11:30 a.m. ET. There will be about a half hour between each of the eight races.
Likewise, Kentucky Downs has shortened the time between races on opening day, August 29, due to the high heat expected. The new start times are as follows (in CT):
- 1st race – 12:25
- 2nd race – 12:53
- 3rd race – 13:21
- 4th race – 13:49
- 5th race – 2:17 p.m.
- 6th race – 2:45 p.m.
- 7th race – 3:13 p.m.
- 8th race – 3:44 p.m.
- 9th race – 16:14
- 10th race – 16:41
- 11th race – 17:09
This press release has been edited for content and style by the BloodHorse team.
