Back On Track: Horses Begin Training Thursday
NEW ORLEANS, LA.
Fourteen months ago, Fair Grounds Race Course was strewn with debris, flood waters filled the infield and backstretch, and the question of horses setting foot on America’s third-oldest racetrack was prefaced more with “if” than “when.”
“If” is no longer an option. “When” is Thursday.
For the first time since Hurricane Katrina, hoof beats will be heard on Gentilly Boulevard as a restored Fair Grounds racing surface welcomes horses for training. It’s the latest sign that Fair Grounds is nearing its re-opening on Thanksgiving Day, just three weeks away.
The main track took on some water from Katrina, but the main concern for new track superintendent Roy Favret was not only to get the track back to its proper consistency, but to remove debris that Katrina’s winds deposited on the racing surface.
The turf course presented a different set of challenges. Because the flood waters came from the salt water of Lake Pontchartrain, the salt content had to be removed from the soil. Fair Grounds crews deposited 90,000 pounds of granulated gypsum over the turf and infield in the spring to neutralize the salt content, a project that was completed in time for Fair Grounds to host the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
More than 200 horses have already arrived on the backstretch this week, and the backstretch population, both equine and human, is living in a totally restored area, which includes the repair or replacement of 28 roofs, new doors on barns and tack rooms, fresh dirt in the barns, new plywood lining in each stall and restored living quarters and restroom facilities for workers. Cost of restorations and upgrades to the backstretch totaled $8.6 million.
Morning workouts are from 6-10 a.m. each day, with a renovation break from 8-8:30 a.m.
Fair Grounds Race Course, the nation’s third-oldest Thoroughbred racing facility, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) and also operates off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. Fair Grounds’ 135th season, the first live racing in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, begins Nov. 23, 2006, and is headlined by the 94th running of the $600,000 Grade II Louisiana Derby on March 10, 2007. Information about Fair Grounds can be found on the Internet at www.fairgroundsracecourse.com.
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