Racing is canceled at Thistledown July 30-31, the remainder of its scheduled race week, as the track surface there goes through continued examination. Pending a satisfactory evaluation, equine workouts are planned to resume Aug. 2 and racing Aug. 4, according to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.
The cancellations follow cards being scrapped on both July 29 and July 28, the latter date after the opening race was completed with an equine fatality. Numerous racing programs were also canceled the prior week amid concerns and evaluations of the track surface.
"The track will be open for training each morning to jog or gallop horses but no works," a HISA spokesperson said in a prepared statement. "Ongoing coordination is taking place with Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory to review current track measurements and confirm the track surface is consistent and there are no abnormalities or areas of concern. Once this exercise has been completed to everyone's satisfaction, full training is expected to resume on Saturday, Aug. 2, and live racing on Monday, Aug. 4."
Thistledown's track superintendent, Sean Wright, was fired July 21 amid allegations that there were large rocks within the track surface. Wright told Thoroughbred Daily News he was fired for "being a whistleblower because he took his concerns to HISA and the track stewards."
Training, including workouts, resumed over the weekend, and racing took place for a single race Monday after scheduled dark days. Fifty-one horses breezed over the surface Monday morning.
