DELAWARE PARK, Pimlico CANCEL SATURDAY CARDs

  • userThe Biz
  • dateJuly 17, 2021

The weather took a sledgehammer to Mid-Atlantic racing Saturday afternoon, forcing Delaware Park to cancel after two races and Pimlico to do the same after the fourth.

Delaware’s decision to spike the program came as a result of heat, with the heat index soaring above 100. Pimlico’s was spurred by a serious storm that blew through Baltimore Saturday afternoon.

The Delaware racing office said in a text that three of its races — the fifth, seventh, and eighth — would be brought back for the track’s July 26 card. The Pimlico racing office said all four of the canceled races — the fifth through the eighth — would be extras for the July 23 card.

Delaware is under a heat advisory today, with the heat index predicted to hit 103, according to the National Weather Service. According to Mike Valiante, correspondent for The Racing Biz, Fifteen Royals, fourth-place finisher in the second race, collapsed after the wire but was able to get up after receiving water. Jockey Victor Carrasco walked to an emergency vehicle.

Pimlico’s cancellation came as a severe weather system passing through the area produced heavy rain and multiple lighting strikes.

Forecast to bring wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-size hail, the storm rolled in shortly before Saturday’s fifth race and, following a delay, the decision was made to cancel racing out of safety concerns for horses, horsemen and fans.

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