Churchill Downs Suspends Turf Racing Through Nov. 22

Churchill Downs, which transferred its scheduled turf races to its main track Nov. 13-14, will not use its turf course through at least Nov. 22, said Darren Rogers, the track's senior director of communications and media services. The course will be evaluated for the final week of the fall meet, which runs through Nov. 29.

The change led Churchill's Saturday feature, the Mrs. Revere Stakes (G2T), to be moved from turf to dirt. Drawn with a short field of seven, the race was reduced to six upon the scratch of Hendy Woods.

Graded races moved off turf are automatically downgraded by one level by the American Graded Stakes Committee, though the committee can review the race within five days and may restore its prior grade.

Conditions were dry in Louisville on Friday and only sprinkles fell in the area Saturday, but moisture is not the reason for the suspension of turf racing. According to Rogers, dry weather in September led the course's root system to not take hold as much as desired.

The course has experienced occasional setbacks in recent years, most often during the fall, when cooler weather limits the growth and thickness of grass in the region.

The suspension of turf racing at Churchill began a day after Winning Impression, a 3-year-old gelding who was 12th in this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), took a bad step near the finish of a Nov. 12 allowance race on turf. The Dallas Stewart trainee, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Pearl Racing, broke a sesamoid and was euthanized that evening.

King: Derby Competitor Winning Impression Injured, Euthanized

Rogers said Churchill will continue to listen to feedback on its course before a determination is made regarding grass racing for the closing week of the fall meet. 

Entries for Nov. 19, which were taken Saturday, filled 10 races on the main track. Entries for its scheduled turf races were taken for the same conditions on dirt, a practice that will remain in place through Nov. 22.

Thursday's card drew 72 entries and one also eligible. The track has been averaging about 7.5 starters per dirt race this meet, and 9.6 on turf.