Coronavirus

The Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga Race Course will open for training Thursday, June 4, with the barn area set to open to horsemen beginning Tuesday, June 2, officials at the New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced Friday. Both the training track and the Whitney viewing stand are to remain closed to the public and access will be restricted to essential personnel licensed by NYRA and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC). In consultation with the NYSGC and state and local public health officials, NYRA has implemented a comprehensive...

Scottish racing is making plans to resume on June 22 behind closed doors with a meeting at Ayr. A provisional list of Scottish fixtures has been published through August, and discussions are taking place between Scottish Racing and the Scottish Government to support the fixtures as Scotland plans to exit lockdown. With racing still expected to begin again in England on June 1, the British Horseracing Authority has released further details on the screening processes for personnel planning to attend race meetings. As part of the declaration process, trainers and...

The Laurel Park summer race meet is a go, starting Saturday. A 28-date schedule was approved by a unanimous teleconference vote of the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) at its Thursday meeting. After an initial Saturday-through-Monday, three-date opening spanning May 30-June 1, Fridays and Saturdays will be the primary live racing dates through Aug. 22 (a Monday, June 8, program is also scheduled, according to the Laurel calendar). Alan Rifkin, an attorney for the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC), which owns Laurel, explained to the commission the rationale behind scaling back to...

Officials at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club announced that the track will conduct racing on a Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule through the entire summer and have pushed forward opening day from July 18 to July 10. The track will close with a four-day week ending on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7. The schedule is pending the approval of the California Horse Racing Board at its June 11 meeting. "We're coming back and we're going to put on the most unique show in Del Mar history," said Del Mar's CEO Joe Harper. "It's...

According to a release from the Thoroughbred Owners of California, Santa Anita will allow a limited number of CHRB-licensed owners to attend morning workouts at the track. Because attendance will be capped in line with county COVID-19 protocols, owners must work with their trainers to reserve space on a first-come, first-served basis. The area has been established in the clubhouse section of the grandstand overlooking the far turn and will contain tables and chairs spaced appropriately to conform with social distancing constructs. There will also be coffee service available. The...

Trainer Brendan Walsh joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to talk about his Triple Crown hopeful Maxfield after last weekend's win in the Matt Winn S., as well as Godolphin's pursuit of the elusive Kentucky Derby.

Rewards4Racing, the industry's rewards programme, will be offering its services and expertise to all UK and Irish racecourses, the organisation announced on Wednesday. In 2019, 960,000 tickets were purchased by the reward programme's members, and data has show that they attend race meetings more frequently and spend more when they come racing. One of the tracks that has accepted the offer is Plumpton Racecourse. Racing begins again in the UK on June 1, while Irish racing kicks off on June 8 after extended coronavirus-induced breaks. "During these unprecedented times, there...

The 2020 Dubai Shergar Cup at Ascot has been cancelled due to the coronavirus, Racing TV reported. Originally scheduled for Aug. 8, the four-team jockey competition played host to some of the world's best riders, but with the current travel restrictions, as well as crowds at sporting events being prohibited, Ascot decided to call off the 2020 event. "Regrettably, given the complexities of flying jockeys around the world and uncertainty over what government regulations will be in place at the time, the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup won't take place...

French listed winner Helter Skelter (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}-Winna Chope {Fr}, by Soave {Ger}) sustained a fatal injury on the gallops on Wednesday morning, owner Masaaki Matsushima confirmed to Jour de Galop. The colt, an €30,000 yearling at the Osarus September Yearling Sale in 2018 who was purchased by Matsushima after his 3 1/2-length victory in the Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage, had held an entry in the June 1 G1 G1 Poule d'Essai de Poulains. He was a last out sixth in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau...

Trainer Andrew Balding had a positive report regarding G1SW Kameko (Kitten's Joy) in advance of the G1 English 2000 Guineas on June 6, Racing TV reported on Tuesday. The Qatar Racing runner galloped at Kempton last week. A last out winner of the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy S. over the Newcastle all-weather, the big bay opened his career with a debut win at Sandown, before a pair of runner-up efforts in the G3 Solario S. and the G2 Royal Lodge S. "He had a gallop at Kempton last week and...

In any other year, the spring steeplechasing season would have concluded last week with the races at Fair Hill, Maryland, the latest hunt meet to draw a large and energetic crowd, there for the party as much as the races. Instead, the jump racing community is trying to figure out how it can salvage what has so far been a lost year. No slice of Thoroughbred racing has been hurt more by the coronavirus than steeplechase racing. With 14 of the 16 spring meets having been cancelled due to the...

The nomination cost for a 2-year-old to the European Breeders' Fund for 2020 has been reduced from $6,000 to $4,500, the EBF announced on Tuesday. Also, the deadline at this fee has also been extended to Aug. 31 or prior to entry in an EBF race. This nomination stage applies to 2-year-olds by a sire not registered to the EBF and standing outside of Europe and which has not been nominated at the previous deadline. Approximately 1,000 races throughout Europe are confined to EBF eligible runners and have added prize...