Belmont Park, Laurel Park and Woodbine Racetrack have canceled racing Friday due to poor air quality. Smoke from wildfires continues to blanket Canada, the east coast of the United States, and even parts of the Midwest, leading to dangerous conditions for horses and humans.
According to a New York Racing Association news release early Friday afternoon, Belmont Park racing was canceled due to a "rapid decline in air quality" late in the morning. New York Department of Environmental Conservation data rated the air quality near Belmont at 154. This is considered unhealthy, and the Environmental Protection Agency advises even people without respiratory conditions to limit outdoor activity time when the air quality rating exceeds 150.
Belmont's nine-race Friday card did not feature any stakes racing. The richest race on the card was a seven-furlong allowance optional-claiming race on the grass with a purse of $105,000. The race drew a field of nine, with the 5-2 morning-line favorite being the coupled entry of Yes and Yes and Thin White Duke from the David Donk barn. Those two horses most recently finished ninth and tenth respectively in the Jaipur (G1).
A Maryland Jockey Club release said Friday's card will be moved to Thursday next week. The 10-race card will be moved as is, without a redraw. Laurel will remain open for simulcast wagering.
According to data from the EPA Office of Atmospheric Protection and the Maryland Department of the Environment, air quality near Laurel was rated at an unhealthy 153 on Friday morning.
Friday's featured ninth race at Laurel had been a first-level allowance sprint at 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass. Among horses entered for grass the 3-1 shortest price on the morning line was Chiringo. The 3-year-old George Weaver trainee was dropping in class after an eighth-place outing in the William Walker Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Woodbine canceled racing Friday due to poor air quality as well. The track had yet to announce when Friday's races will be run back or whether they will be redrawn.
The air quality in the Toronto area was listed as high risk according to Environment Canada, and expected to remain in that range all day. According to Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario guidelines dated June 7, tracks are advised to cancel training and racing if the air quality index falls in the high-risk range or worse.
Friday's eight-race card at Woodbine featured the first leg of its turf sprint series for starter-optional claiming horses. The five-furlong turf dash, carded as the day's seventh, including morning-line favorite Silent Flash for trainer Martin Drexler. A six-time winner, the 9-year-old gelding was returning to Woodbine off of a claiming-level win at Gulfstream Park.
