Aqueduct, Pimlico, Delaware, Big M cancel racing due to storm
Hazardous weather associated with the remnants of tropical storm Ophelia has caused cancellations Saturday at Aqueduct, Pimlico, Delaware Park and Monmouth at Meadowlands. The weather system is causing high winds and significant rainfall up the eastern seaboard.
The New York Racing Association announced Friday that Saturday's card at Aqueduct would be canceled. As of Saturday morning, the National Weather Service calls for between three-quarters of an inch and an inch of rain Saturday at Aqueduct. Winds are expected to be sustained between 17 and 20 mph, with gusts up to 39 mph. As a result, Saturday’s 10-race card has been canceled in the interest of the safety of all participants.
Aqueduct will remain open for simulcasting on Saturday.
Pimlico announced its cancellation in a Saturday morning news release. In Baltimore, the National Weather Service predicts between a half inch and three-quarters of an inch of rain on Saturday. The forecast calls for sustained winds between 22 and 25 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph.
Delaware Park announced its cancellation in a news release Saturday morning as well, stating that the track will add a race day on Friday, Nov. 3 to make up for it. The National Weather Service forecast for Wilmington, Del. calls for an 80 percent chance of rain, mainly before 2:00 p.m. EDT, with new precipitation between a tenth and a quarter of an inch. Winds through the afternoon are expected to range between 20 and 25 mph, gusting up to 40 mph.
The Monmouth Park program at Meadowlands was supposed to feature six races Saturday night. With this card called off, racing there will resume Friday at 7 p.m. EDT.
At Aqueduct, Saturday’s featured Grade 3, $150,000 Noble Damsel and $125,000 Ashley T. Cole will be brought back on Friday, Sept. 29, with entries to be taken on Sunday.
Live racing at Aqueduct is scheduled to resume on Sunday with a nine-race card featuring the $125,000 Joseph A. Gimma and the $125,000 Bertram F. Bongard. First post is 1:05.p.m. EDT.
The feature on Saturday's 10-race card at Pimlico was a $58,000 allowance-level turf route for fillies and mares, led by Grade 3-placed sophomore Opus Forty Two.
Live racing is also scheduled to resume Sunday at Pimlico, with a 10-race card slated to begin at 12:55 p.m. EDT. The richest race on that card is another $58,000 allowance race, a five-furlong turf dash featuring Grade 3-placed Boat's a Rockin.
Saturday's canceled card at Delaware Park featured an eight-race card, anchored by a starter-optional claimer at 7 1/2 furlongs on the grass. The track expects to resume racing Wednesday with an eight-race card beginning at 12:30 p.m. EDT.
Wednesday's card features a pair of $100,000 allowance-level dirt sprints for Delaware-certified juveniles. Race no. 5, the fillies' division, is led by Just Great. The daughter of Great Notion won a Delaware-certified allowance by 13 3/4 lengths on debut Aug. 31. The favorite in race no. 7, the open division, is Copper Tax. He has won two of three starts, most recently prevailing by eight lengths in a Delaware-certified allowance on Sept. 1.