Coronavirus

Despite rumblings of growing uncertainty regarding the resumption of French racing on May 11, France Galop announced that the meetings were still greenlit as of late Friday evening in France. France has not conducted racing since Mar. 17 due to the coronavirus. The statement read: "Since this morning, some alarmist reports have been circulating regarding the resumption of racing on 11 May in France, which have given racing professionals rise to legitimate concern. France Galop and LeTROT have worked tirelessly throughout the day to continue to convince the parties concerned...

The California Horse Racing Board will re-open its Los Alamitos Race Course Licensing Office solely for renewal applications. Protective measures have been taken to assist with mitigating the risk of COVID-19 for CHRB staff and the public. Similar plans are in the process at Golden Gate Fields, Santa Anita Park, and CHRB Headquarters in Sacramento. In an effort to prevent the introduction of new people to the backside of the track, new licenses will not be issued at this time, however, exceptions will be considered if the license is necessary...

The Maryland Jockey Club has released a spring condition book for Laurel Park covering a period of 15 days ahead of the still-undetermined resumption of live racing in the state. Specific dates have not been set. As part of Gov. Larry Hogan's statewide shutdown, live racing was paused in Maryland following the Mar. 15 program at Laurel out of concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic. Highlighting the early condition book is the highly anticipated seasonal debut of racing over Laurel's turf course. A total of 148 races and 42 substitute...

The Oaklawn Park casino has been given the green light by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson to resume operations May 18. During his press briefing May 7, Hutchinson announced that the state's three casinos can reopen, but only at one-third capacity and that stringent social distancing requirements will be in place. Oaklawn's casino has been closed since Mar. 16 and the shutdown had started to affect purses. Under the worst-case scenario, the casino would be closed for an extended period of time and purses would have to be reduced at the...

Fitting into a five-phase reopening plan for the state of Indiana outlined by its governor, the Indiana Horse Racing Commission has announced four major dates to pay attention to for the reopening of the state's racetracks. The dates are as follows: May 11--Essential travel restrictions are lifted (local non-essential travel allowed). Horses currently located in Indiana will be allowed to begin moving onto the backside of both racetracks. This applies only to those trainers with horses currently located in-state. Please contact Harrah's Hoosier Park or Indiana Grand's racing office to...

It appears unlikely that racing in Ireland will return in May, with the department of agriculture, food and the marine confirming on Thursday that racing falls under the umbrella of outdoor sports behind closed doors that will not be permitted to resume until the country's third tier of re-opening on June 29. The government has said it will consider proposals from sectors that wish to have restrictions lifted earlier, and Horse Racing Ireland said in a release on Thursday evening that it is in ongoing talks with the government. There...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance has released a document outlining best practices for North American racetracks determined to prioritize the health and safety of all participants and employees, when conducting live racing in a spectator-free environment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The document will assist racetracks that wish to resume live racing by establishing the safest public health environment possible, while also enabling gainful employment and economic activity at a time of uncertainty for so many. These best practices are based upon the most...

Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg received provincial clearance Wednesday to open its live racing season May 25. "I'm confident we will be the first racetrack in Canada to open a live race," since the COVID-19 pandemic, the track's chief executive officer, Darren Dunn, told the CBC news outlet. Spectator-free racing will be conducted Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. CDT. The season had been slated to open May 10 but got pushed back because of pandemic precautions. The meet will run until Sep. 15. Health and temperature checks will be...

The Western Regional Off Track Betting Corporation (WROTB) is facing scrutiny in upstate New York after the Investigative Post news site revealed that the state-created public corporation recently reaped $3.2 million in Payroll Protection Program (PPP) emergency funding that is supposed to aid small private businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the article, authored by Phil Gambini, WROTB is "owned by 15 counties and two cities, and [is] charged with running legalized betting operations in western and central New York. It shares its profits with those local governments...

The Legislative Action Committee of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) attracted voluntary contributions in 2019 of $750,000, the highest amount contributed to the campaign since the pre-recession year of 2008. The NTRA LAC is a program that supports the breeding and racing industry's federal legislative efforts in Washington, D.C. More than 5,000 individuals and farms support the program and the funds are raised primarily through the NTRA's voluntary check-off program supported by buyers and consignors at Thoroughbred auctions equal to one-quarter of one percent of the prices of horses...

With the planned May 1 opening of their mixed Thorougbred/Quarter Horse meeting indefinitely delayed, officials at Prairie Meadows Racetrack in Altoona, Iowa, announced Thursday that layoffs for some 1,130 of its workers began this week as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "Our focus is to reopen as quickly and as safely as possible," said Gary Palmer, President and CEO of Prairie Meadows.  "The health and well-being of our employees, our guests, the horsemen, and our community remain our utmost priorities as we look to resume our casino and...

Fresh off a dominant weekend at Oaklawn Park in which he swept both divisions of the GI Arkansas Derby, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland this week for a wide-ranging video interview. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Baffert talked about plans for his undefeated trio of Charlatan (Speightstown), Nadal (Blame) and Authentic (Into Mischief), why it was important to support California backstretch workers at last week's protest, taking over the training of Maximum Security,...