Coronavirus

The federal judge in charge of the alleged racehorse doping case involving trainers Jorge Navarro, Jason Servis, and 18 other defendants has set Apr. 2 as the new arraignment date. Court closures related to COVID-19 have already caused two postponements of the arraignment since Mar 23. In an effort to avoid another delay, the judge has ordered this Thursday's arraignment to be conducted via conference call. United States District Court (Southern District of New York) Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil also wrote in the Mar. 27 order that the missed time...

In an effort to resume live racing at Santa Anita as promptly as possible, starting Monday, March 30, jockeys will not be permitted on the track's backstretch and agents will be asked to stay off the grounds, according to a text circulated among the horsemen by track officials Saturday morning. This followed a sudden announcement Friday--with first post time looming--that Santa Anita, in accordance with Los Angeles County Health Department, would temporarily close for live racing "effective immediately" as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That same day, California Thoroughbred...

   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 chance we get. As...

The Arqana Breeze Up Sale, which released its catalogue earlier this week, could be rescheduled for either June 3 or 4 depending on the COVID-19 situation, the sales company announced on Saturday. Currently, the sale is slated for May 9, with breezes to take place the day prior. This format would be maintained if the sale is moved to early June. Deauville Racecourse will continue to play host for the breezes, regardless of when it is actually conducted. "In the midst of a crisis that is affecting us all, we...

Santa Anita Park was forced to close indefinitely Friday--making its announcement shortly before post time--on orders of the Los Angeles County Health Department in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aidan Butler, acting executive director of California racing for the Stronach Group (TSG), confirmed via text that for now, training is unaffected at Santa Anita. The track issued the following statement: "In accordance with instructions received from Los Angeles County Health Department, Santa Anita Park will temporarily close for live racing effective immediately in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We apologize...

On the day that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced that 80% of its workforce has been furloughed, it also issued an update to racing's stakeholders on its plans towards resuming racing on May 1. An initial return to action is likely to see racing remaining behind closed doors in anticipation of any easing of COVID-19 restriction measures likely to happen progressively. The group working on resumption plans is being led by the BHA's Brant Dunshea and includes representatives from the Racecourse Association, National Trainers Federation and Racehorse Owners Association....

The board of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has taken measures to stand down almost 80% of its staff to cut costs to the racing industry by up to £1 million a month during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those employees being stood down will be able to draw on the government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme while the remaining staff continue to work on a plan for the resumption of racing at the earliest date possible. The current shutdown, which was announced on March 18, is set to run until the end...

Whether or not horse racing should continue at the state's tracks was not an actionable agenda item on Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting, but the topic came up early and often as COVID-19 concerns dominated the discussion. The crux of the debate centered on Santa Anita Park and whether or not continuing to race without spectators present constituted an "essential business" exemption under the statewide stay-at-home mandate designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. The CHRB has allowed racing to continue with health-related restrictions at the...

Fasig Tipton, Keeneland, Breeders' Cup offer emergency support to Visit Horse Country as Virtual Tours Spike Worldwide Attention on Kentucky's Horse Industry Two weeks ago, operations at Horse Country HQ switched tracks, along with many others, as we and our members began to absorb the realities around COVID-19. Faced with growing warnings about transmission, travel interruptions, and event cancellations or postponements, experiences at member locations became deprioritized in favor of caution and best practices. That Wednesday, Mar. 11, was the last day of normal operations before we began a record...

The number of individuals who work on the Belmont backstretch and have tested positive for coronavirus has risen to six. On Mar. 19, NYRA confirmed that a backstretch employee had tested positive and, according to NYRA Communications Director Patrick McKenna, five more racetrack workers at Belmont have tested positive since that time. After the first case of the virus was found, NYRA announced that live racing at Aqueduct had been postponed indefinitely. On Wednesday, NYRA announced that live racing was suspended through at least Apr. 5. With the latest outbreak,...

Two weeks ago, the bombshell indictments of trainers Jorge Navarro, Jason Servis, et al., sandwiched between a volatile stock market and the spread of the coronavirus, were the talk of the industry, leading to renewed calls by some for the passage of the Horseracing Integrity Act in Congress. At the time, the doping scandal promised to upend racing's precarious standing, but with hindsight, the plunge of the markets and the rise of the virus may cost the racing and breeding industries greater long-term harm than what's alleged in the indictments....

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano has tested positive for the coronavirus, reports his agent, John Panagot. Castellano is the first North American-based jockey known to have come down with the illness. Castellano had been riding at Gulfstream, but Bill Badgett, the executive director of Florida racing operations for The Stronach Group, said that racing will continue at the South Florida racetrack. He said that Castellano has not ridden at Gulfstream since Mar. 15 and was tested on Sunday when he returned to Florida from New York. "We put protocols...