Coronavirus

A series of new one-hour evening programmes on Irish racing on consecutive Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in June and early July on RTE television have been confirmed by Horse Racing Ireland and RTE on Tuesday. These new programmes, to be broadcasted on RTE2 and RTE Player with 10 extra meetings confirmed up to mid-July, will be held from 7-8 p.m. on Fridays and from 5-6 p.m. on Saturdays/Sundays. Hugh Cahill will be the main presenter, with guest analysts joining regulars Jane Mangan, Ted Walsh and Ruby Walsh. All of RTE...

The remainder of the provisional June racing programme from June 9-30 was published by the British Horseracing Authority on Monday. Previously, the first week of racing, from June 1-8 was released, while on Friday, the complete running order of Royal Ascot was also revealed and on Saturday, the BHA summer fixtures and safety guidelines were announced. The remainder of the June programme will appear on www.britishhorseracing.com website in the coming days. After the first week's emphasis on juvenile racing, the focus shifts to 3-year-olds and up. Scotland and Wales have...

In the front field of Timber Town Stables along Lexington's Leestown Road, a quiet gray grazes contentedly while keeping a close eye on her two-month-old foal napping nearby. The mare takes a step towards you when approached, but the foal remains in a deep slumber, her four limbs stretched out in all different directions as she enjoys the afternoon sunlight. She opens her eyes slowly when you speak, begrudgingly making her way onto her nimble legs only when coaxed While she enjoys the care-free life of a newborn now, the...

The 2020 Japan Racing Horse Association (JRHA) Select Sale catalogue, featuring 13 yearlings from the penultimate crop of the late Deep Impact (Jpn), was released on Monday. Despite the ongoing challenges presented by the coronavirus, the live-format sale at the Northern Horse Park offers 257 yearlings on July 13th, with 239 weanlings catalogued for the day after. The JRHA is also preparing to take bids over the phone, as well. Print catalogues will be available the first week of June. Deep Impact's thirteen yearlings-divided between 10 colts and three fillies-include...

Those that invest in racehorse ownership are typically hooked by the thrill of competition and the camaraderie that comes along with the team effort it takes to get a horse into the winner's enclosure. So what happens when those key elements are removed? Those that stick around in the racing game would have to be resilient by nature or have developed thick skin along the way, and Sam Hoskins, a manager of syndicate groups Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds and Hot To Trot Racing, said, thankfully, his syndicate members have been game...

Keeneland has submitted a request to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's Race Dates Committee for a five-day summer meet, to be held Wednesday, July 8 through Sunday, July 12. Under the current safety protocols, the summer meet would be held without spectators. The summer dates accommodate a portion of the 16-day spring meet that Keeneland was forced to cancel due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Keeneland also will share return to racing protocols with Gov. Andy Beshear's office and local health officials for their approval. To ensure the safety of staff,...

After an Arlington International Racecourse president Tony Petrillo reiterated that Chicago's premier Thoroughbred track won't seek to start racing until spectators are permitted, Illinois Racing Board (IRB) commissioner Thomas McCauley grilled him at length Friday as to why Arlington's refusal to go spectator-free is out of step with tracks nationwide that are starting to emerge from COVID-19 restrictions. McCauley, who for months now has been practically the only IRB member to ask direct questions of witnesses, also pressed Petrillo during Friday's monthly tele-meeting on why Arlington's plans for getting up...

Maxfield's stall sits across from Barn 42's office, where trainer Brendan Walsh can keep a close eye on his star pupil at his Keeneland base. It's been a whirlwind of an early career for the Godolphin-owned colt, but he is now primed to make his sophomore debut this Saturday in the $150,000 GIII Matt Winn S. The son of Street Sense launched his juvenile season last year by breaking his maiden on debut before going on to take the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity by over five lengths. But then three...

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame announced the 2020 Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the Museum Ball has been canceled as a result of the ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are incredibly disappointed we won't be able to have these time-honored special events this summer, but the health concerns we are facing right now take precedence," said John Hendrickson, president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. "The Hall of Fame ceremony is an experience we want...

As the racing world mostly returned to order last week with the reopening of Santa Anita and Churchill and dates for two-thirds of the rescheduled Triple Crown being locked in, eyes turned to the New York Racing Association. Located in the epicenter of the world's coronavirus pandemic, NYRA hasn't run a race card since Mar. 15 at Aqueduct, and has remained in limbo like much of the state as the virus peaked, then slowly--painfully slowly--retreated. But with Governor Andrew Cuomo's proclamation that racing could resume in New York beginning June...

California is an island, they say. Well, for the past few years, it sure has felt as though the industry in the state has been left to circle the choppy waters surrounding this island in a leaky vessel. At times, these leaks have threatened to submerge the boat completely--like the Santa Anita welfare crisis that erupted last spring which led to a sweeping set of reforms that have improved safety but pushed some cash-strapped operators further along the financial gang-plank. At other times, stormy seas have proven galvanizing, bringing this...

The G1 French 2000 Guineas and G1 French 1000 Guineas were moved to Deauville on June 1 instead of ParisLongchamp, as French racing undergoes a venue shuffle following the news that racing has been called off in France's red zone on Tuesday due to coronavirus restrictions, France Galop announced on Wednesday evening. Both 1600-metre Classics will be contested over a straight course. The complete schedule for French racing from May 25th-June 1st was also released, with the May 31 G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly also slated for Deauville. Below are...