Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Indiana Grand sticking with successful meet format
They’re in it for the long haul. The 2021 Indiana Grand race meet commences Tuesday. Closing day comes nearly seven months later, Nov. 8, and during that time span the central Indiana track hosts 120 racing days.
The programs are mainly for Thoroughbreds, leaning heavily on Indiana-bred and, increasingly, Indiana-sired races. One or two Quarter Horse races conclude most daily cards, with six Saturdays devoted entirely to Quarter Horses.
Standard race weeks run Monday through Thursday, with Indiana Grand accepting its place in the North American racing landscape as a midtier track that would run in the shadow of Kentucky, New York, and California on weekends.
“Monday through Thursday, I think we found our niche,” said Eric Halstrom, starting his second season as vice president and general manager of racing at Indiana Grand. “I think we found that we can be really competitive on those days.”
This will be the first full year of racing at Indiana Grand since Eldorado Resorts completed a merger and takeover of several properties, including Indiana Grand, owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp. Indiana Grand’s purses lean heavily on revenue generated by a large casino that is part of the racing complex. The Indiana Racing Commission, in giving its approval for the merger last summer, imposed a set of conditions, agreed to by Eldorado, intended to ensure the viability of racing in the state.
The Indiana Grand casino operated at 50 percent capacity for several months but was permitted to increase to 75 percent earlier this year after the COVID-19 positivity rate in Shelby County, site of the racino, dropped below an established threshold. Halstrom said the racetrack also will open at 75 percent capacity and doesn’t plan to focus on drawing fans to the track until the Indiana Derby card, scheduled for Wednesday, July 7.
Even with reduced casino revenue, Indiana Grand, Halstrom said, plans to pay about $250,000 in daily purses, including stakes, over the course of the meet.
“I think we’re in pretty good shape there,” he said.
Tuesday’s opening nine-race card came up light on entries and includes seven Indianabred or Indiana-sired races. Halstrom expects the pace of entries to pick up in May. The Indiana Grand barn area is full but houses only 990 horses, including about 100 Quarter Horses, though a new 100-stall barn and a 50-room dormitory are under construction. The track is a short ship from Churchill Downs, Keeneland, and training centers in Kentucky, though there’s intense regional racing pressure during the summer months with a host of Midwest tracks racing simultaneously.
This will be the first full Indiana Grand season for director of racing Chris Polzin, hired last October. Polzin, well respected by horsemen, was director of racing at Arlington between 2009 and 2020. He said he’s working off the condition books used by former racing secretary Kevin Greely, and that the population of Indiana Grand horsemen remained mainly unchanged compared to 2020. Ignacio Correas, who ran a string at Arlington the last several years, has Indiana Grand stalls for the first time.
During a truncated 2020 season, Indiana Grand averaged 7.9 starters per Thoroughbred race, down slightly from the 2019 average. Turf races – which begin in early May – average about nine starters per race. Favorites win fast and furiously on the Indiana Grand dirt, hitting at 41 percent on the main track during 2020, the same strike rate as in 2018.
During 2020, a meaningful post-position bias arose in dirt sprints, which can be run only from five to six furlongs. Winners came from post 1 at only a 7 percent rate, while post 2 produced 11 percent winners and post 3 produced 12 percent winners. Posts 4-8 had 14 percent to 16 percent strike rates. Dead rails have arisen before on the Indiana main track, usually only during the spring months.
Deshawn Parker, leading rider during the 2020 meet, has opening-day mounts, while Fernando De La Cruz, the 2020 runner-up, still is riding at Oaklawn. Manny Esquivel moved his tack to Indiana Grand last season, did well, and should have another productive meet. Esquivel can lean on business from his uncle Cipriano Contreras, annually among leading Indiana trainers.
Genaro Garcia won the 2020 training title, his second in a row, with 43 winners yielding a robust $2.27 return on investment. Kim Hammond tied Brad Cox for second in the standings with 36 winners, with her barn getting remarkably hot in midsummer and producing a $2.87 ROI for the meeting. Cox’s string includes many of the best young maidens on the grounds, horses that will be bet accordingly. Wesley Ward is a regular invader for 2-yearold maiden races, especially on turf.
Indiana Grand will use a drone-mounted camera to enhance the broadcast of its races this season. The track also announced plans to have senior state steward Eric Smith provide a live broadcast explanation after any disqualification.
First post Monday through Wednesday is 2:25 p.m. Eastern; first post Thursdays is 3:25.