FairGrounds opens this Friday
 

My home track begins their season on Nov 18th, but with limited turf racing for the first month or so :(

That will really hurt. With Oaklawn opening in early December and offering much higher purses, turf racing was FG's ace in the hole (esp after the problems at CD). There has to be tons of turf runners looking for a suitable place to race. Looks like Tampa and Gulfstream are going to be loaded.

The reason given (by racing director Gary Palmisano Jr.) was heavy rains in July/Aug followed by near drought conditions in Sep/Oct....sprinklers, anyone?
I'm suspicious of that claim...just speculating here, but I've seen photos of the course and only the inside looks bad. I thought a drought would affect entire course, silly me.
Somebody messed up.

Anyway - away we go for season number 150 something

Drought
 

Did hear early on the Mississippi was at levels where barges were having to hold up in fear running aground

maybe getting there info on how to take care for a turf track from their
home track churchill

Makes ya' wonder, doesn't it ?

Gary Palmisano Jr., the son of Gary Palmisano, Sr., long time trainer at Fair Grounds, was promoted to Executive Director of Racing for CDI this past summer. (A good choice - horseman and horseplayer! - He was most recently in charge of player relations at Churchill Downs itself.)

He was on Jason Beem's podcast (the episode released last night for today). Jason asked him about the cutback in turf racing due to the condition of the course. Gary explained that given the position of New Orleans below sea level - with the low, low levels of water in the region, any attempt to use the normal pumps and wells to irrigate would have brought up salt water!

So its climate change then lol

Just once again speaks to how establishing/maintaining the best possible turf course is a different animal place to place.

https://twitter.com/jacquiedoyle/sta...TBV_Zjz8SI2Olg

I mean just look at this.

It’s like CDI does this to their tracks so that they eventually will close. Disgraceful!

Well, no turf, so just play the :1::2::3: blindly and have fun.

Word hes a runner


6th-#6 Haveunevano

FTS for trainer Sam David, who is great with debut runners (and they usually get bet). With the Twitter hype, this one is sure to get hammered at the windows. The bullet work almost guarantees it.
I'll have a look at the runner next door to her, a Girvin filly for Joe Sharp.
When he runs for owner Brad Grady they tend to be live.

https://www.drf.com/news/fair-ground...rf-racing-hold

Who couldn't see that coming?
CD redux

:faint:

CD and FG, two CDI tracks just ran on top of each other to start the FG card…

Equal opportunity - CD and LRL did it earlier.

So it wasn't just that they WOULD HAVE brought up salt water if they had used the normal wells for irrigation with the lack of rain, hence they didn't irrigate - they DID use those wells and didn't realize it was killing the grass until too late!

"Problems with the course began with drought conditions in the area that necessitated regular watering, but the well that was used for turf irrigation had been corrupted with salt water, Palmisano said.

Regional drought has lowered the water level in the Mississippi River, which passes through New Orleans, to near-record levels. When the river doesn’t flow strongly enough, salt water from the Gulf of Mexico begins to run upstream and infiltrate the area’s fresh water supply. The increased salt content in the Fair Grounds well, which has been used without incident for more than 15 years, according to Palmisano, wasn’t detected until a significant portion of the course had been damaged."