Turfway Park has had to scrap a third consecutive scheduled day of racing this week following lingering effects from a major winter storm early in the week in Kentucky, and with more snow expected in the coming hours.
Turfway announced shortly after 11 a.m. Friday that the evening’s program has been canceled. “Despite the tireless efforts of Turfway Park Racing and Gaming’s track crew, lingering effects from last week’s extreme cold and winter weather have made it impossible to safely conduct racing Friday evening,” the track said in a release. “Crews continue to work around the clock to prepare the track for this weekend’s schedule, and live racing is expected to resume Saturday.”
Turfway did not race Wednesday – that card was shifted to Sunday, normally a dark day – and canceled the Thursday program after a snow and ice storm early in the week in Kentucky was followed by days of frigid temperatures with wind chills in the single digits.
Another wave of snow is expected in the state on Friday. In Florence, Ky., the temperature was forecast to have a “real feel” of 20 degrees at 5:55 p.m., which would have been first post for Friday’s card. There was an 85 percent chance of snow at that time, with several inches of accumulation expected.
A $180,036 late pick five carryover that had been scheduled for Friday’s Turfway card now moves to Saturday’s program. The $125,000 Likely Exchange Stakes for fillies and mares will be part of the sequence.
Turfway typically races Wednesday through Saturday. The track said that, beginning next week, it plans to expand to 10-race programs from its typical nine in order to make up some of the races lost to weather.
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