The Indiana Horse Racing Commission approved a request to alter the final week of racing at Indiana Grand during its regular monthly meeting Friday, Aug. 25. The 120-day racing season will now include a special day of racing Thursday, Oct. 26 and the final day of racing is slated for Friday, Oct. 27. The altered schedule was requested to show full support of the prestigious $6 million Breeders Crown at Hoosier Park, Indiana Grand’s sister track.
The change was requested by track officials at Indiana Grand so that all resources can be shifted to Hoosier Park for the monumental two-day Breeders Crown event slated for Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28 beginning at 6 p.m.
“We want to do everything we can to support Indiana racing and the world harness racing championship Breeders Crown event at Hoosier Park,” said Jon Schuster, vice president and general manager of racing at Indiana Grand. “By adding a special racing program Thursday and ending our season on Friday, Oct. 27, we will provide our horsemen with the same number of racing days and opportunities for this racing season. This change will also allow us to lend more support to Hoosier Park as they host the first Breeders Crown ever held in Indiana.”
Many departments at Indiana Grand are already scheduled to be at Hoosier Park during both nights of the Breeders Crown, including individuals from security, mutuels, food and beverage and marketing. Also, equipment at Indiana Grand is also being relocated to Hoosier Park to enhance their operations and make both evenings as efficient as possible for the large crowds in attendance.
“Hosting the Breeders Crown is a massive undertaking for the team at Hoosier Park and we identified early on in the process that additional support from Indiana Grand was crucial,” added Schuster. “This move for our racing season allows us to provide all the necessary resources we have to ensure Hoosier Park can fully accommodate the large number of racing fans that will be coming to Central Indiana over the two-day Breeders Crown event. This is a very historic time for Indiana horse racing and I’m glad we will be a small part of it.”
The final week of racing will now offer all afternoon racing cards Tuesday, Oct. 24 through Friday, Oct. 27. First post for all four days will be 2:05 p.m.
The 15th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing continues through Friday, Oct. 27. Racing is conducted Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 2:05 p.m. with Saturday racing beginning at 6:05 p.m. A special Thursday program will be held the final week of action on Oct. 26 beginning at 2:05 p.m.
(from Indiana Grand news release)