For the first time in a long time the news regarding the Churchill Downs grass course is good. After conducting its entire September meet on dirt, allowing work done on the course during the summer to take full effect, Churchill resumed grass racing at the ongoing meet, which began Oct. 27. And despite skepticism, even internally, that the troubled course would stand up to racing, no problems have so far arisen. Through Nov. 17, Churchill had run 19 grass races this meet, already two more than during the entire fall meeting in 2023. “We certainly think it looks great. We did a ton of work on it in July, and it’s definitely improved,” said Gary Palmisano Jr., executive director of racing for Churchill Downs Inc. Installed during the autumn of 2021, Churchill’s course opened for use in spring 2022 and immediately ran into problems. Grass racing during a short meet that August was scrapped and use of the course was severely limited during other meetings, and after being regularly used this past spring, the grass in late June was not thriving. Summer alterations included peeling back the top of the course to reconstitute the material in which the grass grows and changing the ratio of sand and clay. For now, the project appears to have been a success. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  “We’re going to keep improving on it and working on it until we get it where we want it to be, which is one of the premier turf courses in the country,” Palmisano said. Navy Seal favored Churchill’s featured ninth race Thursday, a first-level turf allowance contested at 1 1/8 miles, drew an overflow field of 14. With the temporary rail set at 36 feet, 11 can start. The morning line has Navy Seal, whose lone victory came two Augusts ago at Galway racecourse in Ireland, set as the 5-2 favorite, which seems plausible. After finishing fifth in the U.A.E. Derby this past March for trainer Aidan O’Brien, Navy Seal wound up in America with trainer Wesley Ward, who sent the gelding to Canterbury Park for his North American debut, a distant third in a race moved from turf to dirt because of rain. Navy Seal checked in a creditable fifth Aug. 31 in the rich Nashville Derby at Kentucky Downs, though his start prior, a close second in a Saratoga allowance race, will earn him as much support as his Nashville Derby. Royal Sandrin, a fast-closing second going one mile at this class level last month at Keeneland, starts for a hot trainer, Paolo Lobo, who has gone 4-2-0 with his nine Churchill runners this meet. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.