Coronavirus

The New York Race Track Chaplaincy of America has launched a matching gift drive for its food pantry that will benefit backstretch workers at Belmont Park as they deal with the many challenges posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Donations to the food pantry made between now and June 6 will be matched up to $25,000 by a member of the New York Racing Association (NYRA) Board of Directors. That gives the Chaplaincy the potential to raise up to $50,000 for its pantry, one of the few in the area...

The California Retirement Management Account, one of the sectors of horse management in the Golden State being deeply impacted by the current shutdown, will temporarily suspend the intake of new horses into the program, the non-profit announced Thursday. In a letter to California owners and trainers, CARMA said, "Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CARMA Placement Program will be temporarily suspended. The program's main source of funding is through purse contributions and matching funds during live racing. During this time, we will not be accepting new horses...

While the coronavirus pandemic's most notable interruption to the world of horse racing has been the lack of, well, horses racing, many of the gears normally turning behind the scenes of the sport have been slowed or halted altogether as well. That includes the sales circuit, which has gone dark for several months as stay-at-home orders and bans on mass gatherings have, in some cases belatedly, trickled in to nearly all of the 50 states. As timing would have it, that shutdown basically covers all of 2-year-old sale season aside...

The TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland has transitioned to video over the past two weeks as the hosts record the show from home, and this week they welcomed their first video guest, none other than four-time defending Eclipse Award-winning trainer and future Hall of Famer Chad Brown. In a wide-ranging interview that touched on how the pandemic has affected his horses and family, what he looks for at sales, his feelings on clenbuterol, his thoughts on how to help smaller trainers get a foothold and his memories of...

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Monmouth Park Racetrack will delay the opening of its stabling area until June 1 with live racing scheduled to commence July 4th weekend. "We want to keep our horsemen and fans as informed as possible," said Dennis Drazin, Chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, operators of Monmouth Park. "With Governor Murphy extending the health care emergency in New Jersey by an additional 30 days, it became impossible for us to move forward with our planned May 1 opening for stabling.  We'll continue to...

The upcoming Texas Summer Yearling Sale Aug. 24 will now include a horses of racing age session in lieu of having broodmares and weanlings, the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park. For this year only, the mixed session will only be open to 2-year-olds and older horses of racing age. The change is due to the cancellation of the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, which could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "After talking to consignors, we found there was strong demand for a horses of racing...

NYRA still plans to begin the Saratoga meet July 14, but has delayed the opening of the Oklahoma Training Track and Saratoga stabling area, which were scheduled to open Apr. 15, due to the coronavirus, NYRA announced Wednesday. NYRA is working with the New York State Gaming Commission and public health agencies to determine an appropriate date to safely open the Oklahoma for training and stabling. The delay does not impact the start of the Saratoga racing season which is scheduled to begin July 16 and run through Sept. 7....

Martin Zapata, who spent the last two years working as a groom for trainer Tom Morley, died Tuesday due to complications from COVID-19, according to NYTHA. The 63-year-old Panama native tested positive Mar. 24 and was hospitalized Mar. 26. "Martin was a beloved member of our team for the past two years who always greeted you at the door with a huge smile. He'll be sorely missed by all those in the New York racing community and further afield as well as his family in Panama," said Morley, who started...

The 2020 edition of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series (MATCH) had been canceled due to the ongoing uncertainty of racing schedules and concerns about purse money due to the coronavirus. The series was set to debut with races split between Laurel and Charles Town Apr. 8. "Obviously, we are all disappointed, but it was the right thing to do", said MATCH Series creator and THA Chairman Alan M. Foreman. "No one wanted to compromise the quality of the event and the brand we are building. MATCH is a luxury, and...

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino announced Tuesday that the Stanley E. Fulton Family Foundation is making a commitment of $2,000,000 to assist New Mexicans. The Stanley E. Fulton Family Foundation was endowed by the long-time owner of Sunland Park, the late Stanley E. Fulton. The gift will go to the All Together NM Fund, which will oversee the distribution of the gift to local charities and food banks in the areas hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis. "I am immensely grateful every single...

TDN Intern Katie Ritz polled a series of industry members to see if they had found anything good that has come out of the current crisis. Their responses will appear every day in the TDN. To submit your own, email suefinley@thetdn.com Amidst all of the craziness and uncertainty facing the world and our industry, there have been two things that have particularly given me solace and comfort during these hard times. I begin each day walking down to our foaling barn and seeing the new foals, if any, from the night...

As one of the few remaining tracks still running races during the COVID-19 pandemic, Oaklawn Park has put jockeys and horsemen on notice that ship-in restrictions will be tightened in advance of the track's upcoming graded stakes races in April and May, which annually bring an influx of shippers to Arkansas. Ship-in jockeys must be named on a stakes mount in order to be cleared for riding on that day's card, and they will be denied access to both the backstretch and the main jockeys' quarters as part of health...