Coronavirus

All of us at Fasig-Tipton hope that you are staying healthy and safe during this COVID-19 pandemic. We know that many of you have questions about Fasig-Tipton's 2020 selected yearling sales. Below, please find some information that we hope will be helpful: In order to create the best possible marketplace for the 2020 yearling sales, we believe it is imperative that the start of yearling sales season occur after the vast majority of 2-year-old sales have been conducted. This could result in a modification to the originally announced Kentucky July...

In every crisis, it's possible to find examples of kindness and generosity, of people reaching out to help total strangers out of the goodness of their heart. To focus attention on the many people in the industry who have stepped forward to help those who have been impacted by the coronavirus, the TDN has launched a series that we hope will put a smile on your face during these difficult times. We'll do our best to bring you a little bit of good news every day. Most of the trainers...

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 ELLIOTT WALDEN The silver lining in the current crisis we find ourselves in is clear. In America, we have gone away from our faith in God. We live in a fallen world where there is heartache and despair... where bad things happen to good people, and good things happen...

The Thoroughbred Owners of California issued the following updates to its members Saturday related to the COVID-19 pandemic and current closures of Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields: Racing Cancelled at Golden Gate Fields In accordance with an order received Thursday, Apr. 2 from the Alameda County Public Health Officer, Golden Gate Fields has temporarily closed for live racing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While there is no specific time frame for return of racing, stabling and daily training will continue at Golden Gate for the approximately 1000...

When asked at his Friday press briefing whether or not he will give tracks in his state permission any time soon to hold races without fans in the stands, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear made it clear that he will require the tracks to stay closed for the foreseeable future. "At least as long as you are seeing an escalation (of the coronavirus), you would still have to have groups of people that would have to come together to make that happen," he said. "It would be the same as the...

   "We are the silver lining in any and every dark cloud we could ever find. There is no need to go looking for the light when you bring it with you." -Tyler Knott Gregson    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 ANNA FORD New Vocations is doing its best to continue operating as much...

Racing at the Singapore Turf Club, which had already been reduced to once a week, could be called off from Apr. 7 through May 4 in accordance with guidelines issued by the Singapore government Apr. 3, suspending all non-essential workplaces during that period. Friday's program at Kranji Racecourse, held spectator-free for the second straight week, went ahead as scheduled, but live racing is set to be canceled Apr. 10, Apr. 17 and Apr. 24. Racing was also due to take place May 1 and 2. Earlier in the week, officials...

The Stronach Group and Maryland Jockey Club are looking into new dates for the GI Preakness S., which is currently scheduled for May 16, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, TSG announced Friday.The annual InfieldFest is canceled. TSG issued the following statement: "The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club are continuing to work with our key stakeholders to explore all options to set a new date for the running of Preakness 145.  Our first priority in these difficult times is the health and well-being of our customers, our vendors,...

With only a handful of tracks still racing due to the coronavirus, wagering on the sport took a huge hit in the month of March, falling by 22.58% over 2019 figures. A total of $731 million was bet during the month, a $214 million drop from 2019 figures. The numbers were released Friday by Equibase. "Obviously, it was a tough month," said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop. "As damning as these number appear, the No. 1 priority right now is the health and safety of our employees. We're like...

Amid the ongoing uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis, Tattersalls has announced another change of dates for its breeze-up sales this season. The Ascot Breeze-up, which should have been held earlier this week and had already been postponed until the end of April, will now be held in Newmarket along with the Craven Breeze-up between May 27 and 29. An additional date of June 8 to 10 is bring held in reserve in case a further postponement is deemed necessary. The Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-up and Horses-in-Training Sale, which had been pushed...

Thursday was supposed to be opening day at Keeneland's spring meet, which has been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, officials who oversee the association's racecourse and sales company spent their afternoon on a video conference call with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC)'s race dates advisory committee explaining how Keeneland will face a situation that is markedly different from the state's other four Thoroughbred tracks when emergency public health mandates are relaxed enough to allow live racing to resume. Bob Elliston, Keeneland's vice president of racing and sales,...

On Mar. 19, the New York Racing Association suspended racing for an undetermined period after a backstretch worker tested positive for COVID-19, which left New York horsemen scrambling to adjust and come up with Plan B for themselves, their horses and their staff. Nine days later--following the announcement that Aqueduct had been approved as a temporary hospital site--NYRA announced that the rest of the Aqueduct winter meet would be canceled and the Ozone Park oval would not host its traditional spring meet, headlined by the GII Wood Memorial S. "On...