Coronavirus

With PMU betting shops once again closed in French cafes during the national lockdown, France Galop projected during a board meeting on Monday that it could suffer a loss in betting revenue of around €30-million should those closures last through December. France Galop projects its loss per month of lockdown to be €15-million. Four thousand of the country's 13,000 PMU betting shops are currently closed. Betting in France had seen a 15% increase in July and August and a 10% rise in September after the country emerged from its first...

Despite a mandatory 28-day lockdown of Toronto and one of its suburbs, officials at Woodbine Racetrack remain in negotiations with the Ontario government as they seek permission to complete the 2020 Thoroughbred season. The lockdown went into effect Monday, Nov. 25, at 12:01 a.m. and allows for training and stabling of horses at the track, but live racing has been canceled. An update late Tuesday from Woodbine read: "Since being permitted to race without spectators in early June, Woodbine Entertainment has demonstrated that live racing poses no greater health risk...

Spectators will be allowed to return to sporting events in Tiers 1 and 2 in England as the COVID-19 cases in those areas decreases. Racing ceased in mid-March as the coronavirus pandemic began, and resumed behind closed doors on June 1. There were two small pilot events held at Doncaster and Warwick, but racing continued fanless under the new autumn lockdown imposed last month. A joint statement from the British Horseracing Authority, The Horsemen's Group and the Racecourse Association read: "The leaders of British horseracing have welcomed the government's decision...

Shortly after announcing that the final three weeks of its Thoroughbred meet would be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, Woodbine was forced to cancel races seven through 13 on Sunday's card due to inclement weather, effectively ending the meet. Among the races cancelled Sunday were renewals of the GIII Grey S. for 2-year-old males and GIII Mazarine S. for juvenile fillies. In a brief statement, Woodbine said, "Woodbine Racetrack was forced to cancel the remainder of its live Thoroughbred racing program on Sunday, Nov. 22 following the sixth race due...

As a result of the Government of Ontario's announcement Friday that Toronto will be entering the Province's grey 'Lockdown' phase of coronavirus-related restrictions, Woodbine Entertainment announced that Sunday will be the last day in 2020 of Thoroughbred racing in the Province. "We have been, and continue to be, extremely supportive of the Government's efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout our Province and appreciate the many difficult decisions they have to make," said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. "We have approached the Government to explain the impacts this decision...

Golden Gate Fields and the City of Berkeley Public Health issued the following update Friday evening with regards to a COVID-19 outbreak at the track which has shut down racing at least through November: City of Berkeley Public Health continues to work closely with Golden Gate Fields on a significant outbreak where more than 200 people living or working on-site at the racetrack have tested positive for COVID-19. 1/ST RACING, which operates the track, is following all of the City's recommendations for testing, quarantine and isolation. The steps they have...

During a Friday afternoon briefing, Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, Canada, announced a mandatory 28-day lockdown in the city of Toronto and the suburb of Peel, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Nov. 23. It was not immediately clear how the decision would impact racing operations at Woodbine Racetrack, though the Toronto Star reported that while training can continue, racing will cease. "With the numbers rising rapidly in certain regions, we have to make the tough, but necessary decisions now to protect our hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes, and...

An active jockey at Woodbine has tested positive for COVID-19. The jockey will not be permitted to access Woodbine Racetrack for a minimum of 14 days while self-quarantining. At the conclusion of the 14-day self-quarantine, the jockey will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to being allowed to return to Woodbine Racetrack. In following these established protocols, contact tracing has been performed and individuals who were in close contact with the jockey who tested positive are being notified. Those individuals, which includes one other jockey,...

In response to current state COVID-19 health and safety protocols, the Maryland Jockey Club at Laurel Park will temporarily close to the public, effective Friday, Nov. 20, at 5 p.m. ET, but will continue to accommodate owners and other licensed horsemen who wish to attend the races. Live racing will continue as scheduled Thursday through Sunday for the remaining days in November, and Thursday through Saturday in December with a special Sunday, Dec. 27 program. There will be no racing on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, Dec. 24 and 25....

British Racing will receive up to £40-million in government loans as part of a £300-million Sport Winter Survival Package for sports hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eleven sports have been designated for the aid, with racing-which has taken place without spectators since its resumption after the nation's first lockdown in June 1-second only in terms of the amount it will receive to rugby union, which gets £135-million. The British Horseracing Authority tweeted on Thursday, "The BHA welcomes the announcement by [the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] that...

Tampa Bay Downs, which has allowed on-track simulcast wagering since July 2 and Silks Poker Room play since mid-June, has formulated plans to permit spectators for its 2020-2021 Thoroughbred meeting, beginning opening day Nov. 25. For the foreseeable future, fans will be required to wear masks both inside and outside the facility, unless they are eating or drinking. Temperatures will be taken of each person entering the building. Various measures have been established to ensure social distancing, including: the creation of more outdoor, private spaces for small groups; a limited...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs on Wednesday that he hopes to get fans back into sporting venues "as soon as possible" after reports emerged on Tuesday that the government was exploring having spectators return to venues by Christmas in areas with the lowest COVID-19 infection rates. With the exception of trial events at Doncaster and Warwick in September-with the former having been cut short due to rising infection rates in the area-racing has been staged behind closed doors since its resumption on June 1. Goodwood and Newmarket had also...