Heavy rain hit northern Maryland Friday morning, possibly leading to a sloppy track for the 90th running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes Friday night. Nearly two inches of rain fell in the area early in the day, according to AccuWeather.com.
2014 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes weather: Heavy rain could make for sloppy conditions
The winner of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes may be the horse that runs best through the slop following some early morning rain.
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Morning workouts were conducted with muddy conditions. The heavy rain, however, stopped in the midafternoon, possibly giving the course a chance to dry out. According to AccuWeather.com, Maryland Jockey Club officials said the track would need a few hours to dry out. With post time scheduled for 4:47 p.m. ET, there is a chance the track will be in solid shape by the time the race begins. No rain is expected to fall in the time leading up to the race.
While the track will have a couple of hours to dry out, the sheer amount of rain that hit early in the day might still leave the track somewhat sloppy. Some of the horses in 11-horse field, especially those who train in California, have never experienced a race on a sloppy track. John Servis, who trains Joint Return, said early in the week that he didn’t think conditions would be an issue, but “you really don’t know until you try it.”
Coverage of the 2014 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes will begin at 4 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.
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