Early Morning Rain Expected Friday at Churchill Downs

Rain is in the forecast at Churchill Downs on Thursday but it is expected to clear up by early Friday morning and racecourse staff will be working diligently to get the ground ready ahead of the big Breeders' Cup meeting this weekend. Easily one of the biggest dates on the racing calendar, the Breeders' Cup is the de facto finale to the flat racing season.

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The forecast during Friday day and the entirety of Saturday is expected to be good with warmer temperatures expected and clear skies as well.

The Friday races feature virtually all female contests and there is a lot of excitement already for the likes of the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic – which pits the best fillies and mares against each other in a country where the distaff side is becoming increasingly competitive on a global stage. At the time of this writing, Bob Baffert's Plum Pretty was the betting favourite for the contest.

All eyes will be on the turf track that proved to be a real stumbling block last year, especially for the higher-profile European shippers. Workforce had flown to Louisville last year for the Breeders' Cup Turf, only to be scratched on the day after the rain made the grass course too firm for the likes of his connections.

Butch Lehr, the clerk of the course (or course superintendent in America), spoke to the media on Wednesday and assured them that the going was likely to be top quality by the time Friday rolls around. “Right now I think the turf track is in perfect condition in my opinion. We are calling it good to firm and with the dews and morning frosts it's as firm as it is likely to get at this time of year.”

Workforce's connections will be campaigning Sea Moon stateside this year and they are confident about the quality of the turf. “His rider said the ground was good to firm yesterday but it was slightly firmer today so we hope they get the rain that is forecast.”

Officially, the ground is rated at good to firm.