Extreme Heat Forces Ellis Park to Cancel Six Races

Ellis Park canceled six of its eight scheduled races July 5 because of concern for the safety of horses and riders in the extreme heat and humidity. The call to cancel the rest of the racing program was made after the second race Thursday.

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for Henderson, Ky., with the heat index reaching 110 degrees at the time of cancellation and the prospect of hitting 114.

Ellis Park racing secretary Dan Bork said the decision was made by track management after consulting with jockeys, state veterinarians, and horsemen.

"With horse racing, every day is a priority for safety, and we take every precaution necessary to get all our players on days like this to be ready to go," Bork said. "Water everywhere, ice everywhere. With (Wednesday) being so extreme ... and this hot weather again today, we just thought it was in everyone's best interest to take the rest of the day off. The heat index went up a little bit higher than we thought it was going to get to.

"I think it's the right move. It's unfortunate for us, but safety first. ... We apologize for the inconvenience to our fans and horsemen. The good news is that the weather is supposed to break, and we look forward to better conditions for Friday's racing program."

"We go through a lot of measures in the morning, checking horses out," said chief state veterinarian Dr. Bruce Howard. "But heat obviously becomes a big factor for us in the summertime, or really any track where we have extreme temperature changes. These horses can suffer from heat distress until they acclimate. Horses who have raced here a lot have acclimated fairly well and do really well.

"We went through the second race, and we had some horses show signs of heat distress, which concerned us. I think everybody got their heads put together and made the right decision."

Racing is scheduled to resume at Ellis Park July 6 with a 12:50 p.m. CT first post.