New weather warnings, Fri. night thru Sat.

[randallscott35]

at least the oaks should be alright

[tector]

Yes, but it makes the two day bets all the more shaky, in my view.

Sounds like Sat. afternoon may fall "in a window" of not-so-bad, but it is hard to say just yet. Needless to say that track will be sealed like a drum after Friday's races.

[Smooth Operator]

Sunny and 75 in Arcadia on Sat


Every big race should be at SA

[JerseyJ]

California and rubber sucks...the real racing is east of the Mississippi.

[DaTruth]

Originally Posted by JerseyJ

California and rubber sucks...the real racing is east of the Mississippi.

Don't you mean east of the Rockies?

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by Cardus

"A LARGE AMOUNT OF WARM AND MOIST AIR WILL INFILTRATE OUR REGION FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO."

Freakin' Mexicans.

We should pull that warm air over and ask for its papers.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

We should pull that warm air over and ask for its papers.

Or shoot it if it invades our space.

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

We should pull that warm air over and ask for its papers.

lol

[Fulla Sheets]

Any chance they take the races off the turf?

[robfla]

Originally Posted by Fulla Sheets

Any chance they take the races off the turf?

not the stakes

[mbahadur]

Originally Posted by Fulla Sheets

Any chance they take the races off the turf?

The stakes races will stay on the turf but you may see some scratches if some trainers are not comfortable with the turf course.

You may also see some scratches on the main track if it comes up sloppy (especially in the non-Grade 1 races). Zenyatta scratched last year for much less moisture than we will see Saturday.

[the_fat_man]

Originally Posted by Fulla Sheets

Any chance they take the races off the turf?

Only if NYRA is in charge. It's all about keeping the grass perfect, after all.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

Only if NYRA is in charge. It's all about keeping the grass perfect, after all.

I think concern for horses snapping legs stepping in holes, (formed when courses used under yielding or soft conditions dry up), takes precedent over 'keeping the grass nice'.

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by Smooth Operator

Sunny and 75 in Arcadia on Sat


Every big race should be at SA

When they go back to DIRT!

[mbahadur]

Weather.com article

First Kentucky Derby Rainout Saturday?by Jonathan Erdman , on Apr 30, 2010 8:17 am ET
College and pro football accept inclement weather as a fact of life, a sign of a tough team to "gut it out" and prevail. An NFL game played on a sloppy, wet Heinz Field a few years ago bears testament to football's mentality to "just play through".

In similar fashion, since 1875, the Kentucky Derby has never been postponed due to weather. With that said, weather for the 136th "Run for the Roses" Saturday may pose an extreme challenge not seen before!

IT'S RAINED BEFORE ON RACE DAY...WHAT MAKES THIS SATURDAY DIFFERENT?
According to the National Weather Service office in Louisville, 46% of race days have had some precipitation fall at some time in the day, including the last three race days. It should be noted that many of these days were either wet only in the morning, or featured showers and thunderstorms that were sufficiently scattered to not heavily impact the race.

Unfortunately, Saturday's scenario looks like a soaker potentially all day long. A frontal boundary will stall out along the Ohio Valley.

A band of thunderstorms will arrive from the Mississippi Valley early Saturday, then, as the front stalls out, so may the thunderstorm band. With Gulf moisture feeding these two stalling features, heavy rain is a major threat Saturday, even through race time.

While it's difficult to pinpoint exactly where this band of heavy rain will park, several inches of rain may soak the Louisville metro through Saturday!

2-day rainfall forecast

Churchill Downs continues to use a dirt track, while many other tracks have switched to synthetic surfaces in recent years. While a wet track favors "mudders", horses known for running well on muddy tracks, heavy rain can make the surface uneven, putting the horses in jeopardy.

The heaviest rain on "Derby Day" was a 2.31" deluge that accumulated both in the morning and evening of May 11, 1918. Therefore, it's possible Saturday could be the wettest race day on record! Perhaps the odds-on favorite isn't really "Lookin At Lucky" but rather "Heavy Rain".

Ironically, this potentially soggy Kentucky Derby is the first derby run since last August's severe flooding, which swamped Churchill Downs, among many other locations in the Louisville metro.