Ellis Park suffers extensive tornado damage

[MRS]

Ellis Park suffers extensive tornado damage
November 6, 2005
http://www.thegleaner.com

The Ellis Park thoroughbred racetrack suffered severe damage in this morning's tornado.

Three of the 158 horses at Ellis Park were found dead after nine barns collapsed, said Paul Kuerzi, Ellis Park vice president and general manager. He also added that three or four other horses suffered severe injuries, which could lead to euthanization.

Two people who were at the park were taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries.

A tornado whipped through the park coming from U.S. Highway 41, tearing down the terrace grandstand and severely damaging the jockeys' headquarters, the outside of the main building and the backstretch area where many of the horses were kept. The racing surface also suffered extensive damage.

Kuerzi could not give an estimate on the damage and said there is no timetable for when Ellis Park could resume its simulcasts. There is no scheduled racing there until July.

"It's still amazing that it's just not there any more," Kuerzi said. "It's devastating right now."

Ellis remains completely without water and power this afternoon, and Kuerzi is advising trainers to temporarily restable their horses.

[MRS]

Trainer Flint Hopes Ellis Park Can Rebound
Date Posted: 11/6/2005 6:19:20 PM
Last Updated: 11/6/2005 6:47:18 PM
http://www.bloodhorse.com

Veteran trainer Bernie Flint is a native of New Orleans who has spent most of his racing career based at Churchill Downs, but the 65-year-old has a soft spot in his heart for Ellis Park.
Flint and many other members of the Kentucky racing community were eager on Sunday to receive any news about the condition of the Henderson, Ky. track that was slammed by a tornado early Sunday morning.

"It's been there a long time and, with it being a mainstay in Kentucky, it's pretty sad to see it get hit that hard," Flint said of the 83-year-old track. "The people of western Kentucky -- that's their sole place to race."

Three horses were killed when the storm roared through the barn area of the track.

Portions of the Clubhouse, paddock, jockey's quarters, and racing office also suffered damage. The track's infield tote board was blown away.

Flint, who earned 11 training titles at Ellis Park between 1989 and 2002, heard the news that Ellis had been hit shortly after he arrived at his barn on Sunday morning.

Flint hopes that the track that patrons lovingly call the "Pea Patch" can rebound from the blow and return to racing when its 2006 meet is scheduled to open in mid-July.

"One thing good is that people have insurance to try and cover some of the losses that they have, but the loss of lives is just horrendous," Flint said.

"In that area, people are just not geared for that. It's a smaller community and a good base of racing fans. It's just a terrible, terrible thing to have this much devastation follow racetracks around the country. I hope some kind of way they can get it back, and get it on their feet and get it running."

[MRS]

Ellis Park damaged, horses killed in early morning tornado
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com

A tornado that killed at least 17 people and left more than 200 injured when it ripped across portions of Southern Indiana and Kentucky in the early morning hours Sunday also caused heavy damage to the grandstand and stable area at Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky, and killed at least three horses stabled on the grounds.
Published reports said approximately half of the grandstand at Ellis Park was damaged in the tornado, which first touched down in Henderson before moving across the Ohio River and into southern Indiana.

Ellis Park Vice President Paul Kuerzi said that several barns and other buildings at the track, including the clubhouse, were damaged by the storm.

Ellis Park’s 2005 racing season ended on September 5, but an estimated 150 horses in training and a small number of workers remained on the track’s grounds.

“We took a couple of people to the hospital, but none of those injuries appear to be serious or life-threatening,” Kuerzi said. “It appears at this point that three horses have died from injuries suffered in storm. It’s too early to know if any other horses were injured.”

Kuerzi said that several barns, part of the track’s grandstand, and other structures, including the infield totalisator board and part of the track's safety rail, also sustained damage.

Simulcast wagering at Ellis Park has been cancelled for Sunday and will remain closed until further notice.

Trainer Larry Jones is one horseman who stables year-round at Ellis and he said on Sunday afternoon that his 41-member string came out of the storm without any injuries.

"We were fortunate, but it looks like a bomb went off there," Jones said. "We're talking about millions of dollars of damage there. The grandstand took a major hit. The racing office is there, that took a hit. Eight barns are just flat, they're gone, where they were you won't find them anymore. Several other barns have major damage."

Ellis races from mid-July to Labor Day, but the track's immediate future was unknown on Sunday afternoon. Churchill Downs Inc. requested and was approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority for a reduced Ellis season in 2006, from 41 days in 2005 to 36 for next year.

Officials from Churchill Downs Inc., which have already dealt with natural disasters at the company's Fair Grounds in New Orleans and Calder Race Course in Miami this year, traveled to Ellis on Sunday morning and were unavailable for immediate comment.

"I have a feeling when [Churchill management] see this they’ll just write this one off completely," Jones said. "We’re talking about major, major damage here."—Tom Law

[MRS]

[MRS]

[MRS]