Heavy rain and a forecast for continued thunderstorms throughout the afternoon caused Gulfstream Park to cancel the balance of its nine-race program after Friday’s second race out of an abundance of caution for horses, horsemen and fans.
Overnight rain Thursday forced each of Friday’s three races scheduled for the turf to be moved to the all-weather Tapeta course. Peacethrustrength ($5) won the opener, a maiden claimer on Tapeta for 3-year-olds and up, for meet-leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Carlos David-trained Carentan ($6) took the second race for claimers aged 3 and older, also on Tapeta.
Gulfstream intends to resume racing Saturday. Post time for the first of 11 races on that card is 12:50 p.m. EDT.
All seven races canceled will be back next Friday overnight as extra races one through seven.
A mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is scheduled for Sunday. The multi-race wager was hit twice in three days last weekend, returning payouts of $143,083.80 on Oct. 3 and $50,554.92 on Oct. 5.
The National Weather Service said conditions at 1:45 p.m. EDT Friday included a storm with heavy rain and breezy, with gusts up to 35 mph. A flood advisory was in effect until 3 p.m. EDT.
Rain was expected to continue through Saturday, with a high near 84 degrees and a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Sunday is expected to be mostly sunny with a high around 86 degrees.
