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The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) recommended to Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) that racing be temporarily suspended to allow for additional comprehensive investigations into the cause of recent equine fatalities at the track; CDI has agreed with and accepted this recommendation.
Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Friday that the it will suspend racing operations at Churchill Downs Racetrack beginning June 7, 2023, through the remainder of the Spring Meet, scheduled to run to July 3. Live racing at Churchill Downs will be conducted as scheduled this weekend on Saturday, June 3 and Sunday, June 4. The remainder of the race meet will be relocated to Ellis Park Racing & Gaming in Henderson, Ky., beginning on Saturday, June 10.
“HISA’s highest priority is the safety and wellbeing of equine and human athletes competing under our jurisdiction,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “Given that we have been so far unable to draw conclusions about the cause of the recent equine fatalities at Churchill Downs, and therefore have been unable to recommend or require interventions that we felt would adequately ensure the safety of the horses running there, we made the decision to recommend to CDI that they temporarily suspend racing at Churchill Downs while additional reviews continue. We know that CDI and the KHRC share our goal of ensuring safety above all else, and we appreciate their thoughtfulness and cooperation through these challenging moments. We will continue to seek answers and work with everyone involved to ensure that horses are running safely at Churchill Downs again in the near future.”
