By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Sports

We could all use a break from the heat.

Even racehorses.

Louisiana Downs is moving back this weekend’s races two-and-half hours — to 4:15pm. Track management hopes Saturday and Sunday’s later post times will help horses deal with temperatures forecast by The Weather Channel to reach at least 100 degrees — with even higher “feels like” temperatures.

“First is the safety and integrity of our horses,” said Mitch Dennison, General Manager of Racing at the Downs. “The later post time — the sun starts to go down; it starts to cool off a little bit. By the second race, it seems like the apron is pretty shady. We just want to watch out for the extreme heat and make sure everyone is safe — including the horses.”

The Downs has already made other adjustments to help horses tolerate the sweltering heat.

“We have hoses out for cooling pads, before and after races,” Dennison said. “We also have water availability — we ice down water for the horses. Whenever they’re walking up to the paddock, there are a couple of hoses from the backside of their barns to the front side — in the paddock area.

“There are a couple of hoses along the way for horsemen to hose off their horses and cool them off before the race, as well as after the race. The state (veterinarian) has a truck that has a water tank on the back, with ice water. After the races, the horses are hosed down by the state vet.”

If this weekend’s later start proves helpful to the horses, more adjusted post times could be coming.

“If it’s successful, and (it’s cooler in the late afternoon), and things work the way we want them to work, we are absolutely considering making the change for the summer to get away from the heat a little bit,” added Dennison.

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Photo courtesy of Louisiana Downs