Delaware Park will start its races an hour earlier Wednesday, while Horseshoe Indianapolis has canceled its live racing card for the day due to forecasted excessive heat at both tracks.
Delaware Park's first post time Wednesday will be 11:30 a.m. Additionally, there will be approximately a half hour in between each race on the eight-race card. According to the National Weather Service, the forecasted heat index will be near 105 degrees for the region Wednesday afternoon.
First post at the Delaware oval Friday is expected to return to 12:30 p.m.
Projected temperatures and a heat index expected to exceed 105 degrees in Central Indiana led to the cancellation of live racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis Wednesday.
“We have been keeping a close eye on the temperatures and heat indexes all week,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of the Indiana oval. “The weather service has just reissued a warning for Wednesday that escalates the heat index into an unsafe category. We want to be proactive and alert all horsemen and racing fans about the decision to cancel racing today, allowing everyone ample time to adjust their plans for Wednesday.”
Halstrom continued, “Our human and equine athletes are always at the top of the list when it comes to safety, so it's important for us to act quickly when unsafe conditions like this are in the forecast. We will continue to monitor the forecast, but we should be able to conduct our racing program set for Thursday, Aug. 29 beginning at 2:10 p.m. However, we will talk with our horsemen's groups as we get closer to that day and reevaluate the decision, if needed.”
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