New Year’s Day races at Fair Grounds went ahead as scheduled
only hours after a terror attack left at least 10 people dead and 35 others
injured on Bourbon Street, about two miles south of the track in New Orleans.
“Admittedly shaken by the overnight events in the city that
has my heart,” Fair Grounds TV host Joe Kristufek wrote on X. “Hopefully today’s
racing card at Fair Grounds can provide a distraction.”
Click here for Fair Grounds entries and results.
There was no formal comment or reaction yet Wednesday
afternoon from Churchill Downs Inc., the owner of the track.
Nine races were carded for a special holiday card that began at 12:47 p.m. CST on Wednesday,
when the weather was sunny and the forecast high was 59 degrees. Fair Grounds also has
programs scheduled as usual for Thursday-Sunday.
The FBI said Shamsud-Din
Jabbar drove his pickup into a crowd of people celebrating the new year around
3:15 a.m. CST in one of the world’s most famous party districts. Jabbar was
killed in a subsequent shootout with police officers.
CNN reported
Jabbar, 42, was a U.S. Army veteran from Texas who had an ISIS flag on him
during the attack. Jabbar was not believed to be “solely responsible,” the FBI
said. Explosives were found in his rented pickup and other locations around the
French Quarter.
The attack led to
the postponement until Thursday night of the Sugar Bowl college football
playoff between Georgia and Notre Dame.
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