In light of severe winter weather, Fonner Park has canceled its opening weekend of racing. The track was scheduled to open Saturday, but racing for both Saturday and Sunday will not happen, by agreement of track management and local horsemen.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for an area covering Grand Island, Neb., where Fonner Park is located. A band of snow responsible for an inch or two of accumulation is expected to end Saturday morning, though sustained winds between 20mph and 25 mph and gusts of up to 35 mph are predicted through the day. Saturday’s high is expected to be around 19, with wind chills near zero. Though no more snow is predicted until Sunday night, that day’s high is expected to be near 14, with wind chills between -8 and -18.

“My facilities team did an outstanding job with the racetrack in preparation for this weekend. Hundreds of horses trained over the racetrack yesterday. But the colder temps today, coupled with high winds, caused racing to be unreasonable,” said Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak.

“I never prefer to cancel racing in advance of a day of racing before getting an actual taste of the weather. But the forecast for this weekend was correct. In 2024, the temperature on opening day was 31 degrees. In 2018 it was 22 degrees and in 2016 it was 56 degrees. We are a winter racing facility and must recognize that the weather pendulum swings both ways,” Kotulak said.

Racing is expected to get underway next Saturday with a card beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST.