Mysterious hole disrupts training at Churchill Downs

Training at Churchill Downs was interrupted for nearly two hours Wednesday

morning following the discovery of a hole that suddenly formed on the

backstretch of the main track near the far turn.

The track was closed immediately when the hole was discovered shortly after

6:30 a.m. (EDT). The hole was located on the outer third of the track near the

half-mile pole and the entry into the far turn. Track Superintendent Butch Lehr

said the hole measured eight to 10 inches across and was about two feet deep.

The hole was filled with the sandy loam material that makes up the base of

the one-mile oval and topped with the dirt that covers the entire racing

surface. Training resumed at 8:45 a.m. and the session was extended about 15

minutes past its regular 10 a.m. close to allow as many horses as possible to

make up for lost time.

No horses stepped in the hole during the short time between its rapid

formation and the closing of the track.

Lehr, a 43-year veteran in the post of track superintendent at the home of

the Kentucky Derby (G1), is confident that the repairs made by his track

maintenance team have taken care of the issue. However, he does not know at this

point what led to the sudden formation of the hole.

"I've never seen anything like during all my time here," said Lehr.

Track safety specialist Dr. Mick Peterson of the University of Maine will

bring his ground-penetrating radar to the track on Friday for a thorough scan of

the racing surface and track base. A similar scan conducted just before the 2009

Kentucky Derby revealed no problems or reason for concern regarding the track

surface or base.

Lehr is unsure what might have led to the formation of the unusual hole, but

does not expect to find any problems with the track base or surface.

"We repaired it and we're going to watch it," Lehr said. "It was about two

feet deep, but we put everything back and tamped it real good. You couldn't even

tell where it had been when we got finished. We're going to watch it real close.

I did some grading on it today, and I believe we took care of the problem. But

we want to take a close look at the track when Mick Peterson gets here with his

sonar."

The track's regular four-hour training session is scheduled to begin at 6

a.m. on Thursday, and spring meet racing will resume with a nine-race afternoon

program with first race post time set for 12:45 p.m.