Charles Town cancels racing through Saturday after water line leak

The water-main leak near the main track at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races forced a three-day shutdown that hit horsemen, bettors and the local racing schedule at once, canceling live racing Thursday through Saturday and wiping out the meet’s normal end-of-week rhythm. The track said it expected to resume racing on Thursday, May 28, and it will make further announcements on training, racing and makeup dates.

The interruption lands hard in a place that usually depends on steady traffic. Charles Town normally races live Wednesday through Saturday until mid-November before shifting to a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule for the rest of the year, so losing three straight live cards is more than a simple adjustment. It disrupts training plans, shipping decisions and purse opportunities for barns that had intended to run over the Charles Town surface, while bettors lose an entire slate of races that would have anchored the week.

A contemporaneous racing report said the track had nine races scheduled for Friday and Sunday and eight for Saturday before the cancellation, underscoring how many chances disappeared from the local calendar in one stroke. With 165 live racing days listed on Charles Town’s published 2026 schedule, every lost card matters, especially at a venue where entries can move quickly and purse money is often tied tightly to timing.

The track’s horsemen information page said simulcast hours remain available and that the first-floor grandstand has reopened for live racing and simulcasting operations. That means the property is still functioning in a limited capacity, even as the leak keeps the main track itself out of service. For horsemen, the distinction is critical: wagering can continue off-track, but live racing and the training routine tied to the main surface remain on hold until repairs are complete.

The timing is especially awkward coming just before the Memorial Day stretch, when a busy regional circuit is already under pressure to keep races moving and fields filled. The shutdown also arrives against a broader industry backdrop in West Virginia, where Gov. Patrick Morrisey ceremonially signed SB 1060 at Charles Town on April 13. The bill creates a West Virginia Certified Thoroughbred designation and raises the restricted-race funding cap from $1 million to $2 million, part of a push that ties the track more closely to the state’s racing economy. For now, though, the immediate story is simpler and more urgent: the leak stopped live racing, and Charles Town has to repair the damage before horsemen can get back to the gate.