Churchill Downs will return to live racing in September for its regularly scheduled fall meet, the company announced on Monday, nearly two months after ceasing live racing at the Louisville track after a highly publicized spate of fatalities. In a release, Churchill said that the fall meet, scheduled to begin on Sept. 14, would go ahead as planned, though with “several key enhancements to further ensure the safety and well-being of equine and human athletes." Those include the establishment of a Safety Management Committee comprised of horsemen, Churchill officials, and veterinarians, as well as the designation of "additional resources" to veterinary inspection teams and an investment in “new surface maintenance equipment.” “We are excited to resume live racing again at Churchill Downs,” said Bill Carstanjen, the chief executive officer of Churchill, in the release. Churchill canceled the remaining portion of its spring-summer meet in June and moved racing to another track it owns, Ellis Park, in western Kentucky. The decision followed the deaths of 13 horses since training began at the track in late April, including Wild On Ice, who was being pointed to the Kentucky Derby. The deaths garnered national headlines and led to multiple reviews of Churchill’s racing surface, as well as investigations into the deaths. Post-mortems on the horses did not return any significant commonalities among the deaths, several of which were not related to racing or training injuries. The reviews of the racing surface also did not uncover any significant abnormalities, according to officials. Churchill reiterated in the release that “analysis by multiple leading industry experts found no issues with the racing surfaces,” but the company said that it would double the frequency of surface testing during the upcoming meet. Churchill also said that it would continue to work with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and “other industry experts to predict at-risk horses using up-to-date data and advanced analytic techniques.” The use of data to identify at-risk horses grew out of a project called the Equine Injury Database. Under the existing system, horses that have certain risk factors are flagged by racing-office software at entry, leading to additional veterinary scrutiny before being allowed to race. The new Safety Management Committee will “candidly discuss concerns and observations to constantly provide real-time feedback on areas of improvement,” Churchill said in the release. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.