Coronavirus

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training will continue as scheduled, OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski told the TDN Tuesday. The decision comes as organizers and administrators for institutions and events around the world grapple with just how seriously to take the Coronavirus outbreak. "We're monitoring the situation, but we are moving forward with the sale," Wojciechowski said. "There have been no restrictions placed on us by a government agency--it's a fluid situation, but right now with the investment that's at stake for our consignors...

Four meetings in the UAE, barring Dubai World Cup night on Mar. 28, will be conducted without spectators, the Emirates Racing Authority announced on Tuesday. The ruling comes in accordance to public safety measures pertaining to the proliferation of COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus. The dates are as follows: Meydan, Mar. 12 Al Ain, Mar. 13 Abu Dhabi, Mar. 14 Jebel Ali, Mar. 20 All races will be contested and regulated in a standard fashion and results will be recorded in an official capacity. Only the horses' connections, racing...

Officials at Cheltenham on Monday said it was "full steam ahead" for the start of the Festival on Tuesday. While confirmed cases of coronavirus in Britain now total over 300, a meeting on Monday between sports governing bodies with broadcasters and government officials to discuss contingency planning concluded that based on the "current scientific advice" there were no reasons to cancel sporting events "as things stand". Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse said, "Of course these things happen, but we do our bit for the public as a responsible...

More than 270 people have now tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, the Department of Health has announced. As of 9 a.m. on Sunday, 273 people had been diagnosed with Covid-19--an increase of 67 from the 206 cases confirmed at 7 a.m. on Saturday. It represents the largest day-on-day increase in diagnoses. The four-day Cheltenham Festival, is still going ahead as planned and it begins on Tuesday. Meanwhile in Italy, more than a quarter of population has been placed in mandatory quarantine as the Government attempts to stem the...

We came back yesterday from Australia, and found ourselves in very strange circumstances. Chantilly, a town where it is normally difficult to find a parking space, has spaces available by the truckload. The Town Library is closed until Mar. 14. The local cinema is closed, and there are very few people in restaurants and cafes. The swimming pool closed for an indefinite period. Beginning Monday, in two French 'departements'--including Oise where Chantilly is--all day nurseries and all schools will be closed for a minimum of 15 days. What about racing?...

Following the publication of the government action plan published on Mar. 3, the British Racing Steering Group on COVID-19 is encouraging all businesses and employers who are part of the racing industry to follow the appropriate guidelines releases in the action plan. The plan details phases of the government's response to COVID-19, with an emphasis on the steps necessary to contain and delay the disease. British racing has been in regular contact with DCMS and DEFRA over the past two weeks to keep them informed of the racing's industry's developing...

As a result of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in the country, all horse racing operations in South Korea will be suspended at least through Mar. 22. Alastair Middleton, an English racecaller for the Korean Racing Authority, reported the news in a tweet Wednesday. On Wednesday, Feb. 26, officials at the KRA announced that racing would cease in the country beginning Friday, Feb. 28 before the situation was reevaluated Mar. 9. A total of 12 meetings (including pony races) at the three KRA-owned facilities were to be canceled. An additional six...

In an echo of World War II Ministry of Information posters, the message from the British government as of Tuesday was very much 'keep calm and carry on' in light of growing concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus. Health Secretary Matt Hancock, a racing fan whose West Suffolk constituency includes Newmarket, took to the airwaves on Tuesday morning and in an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme said, "Today we are still in the contain phase of the plan which is about trying to stop its spread. There are...

There was a significant spike in the total of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK on Sunday--less than 10 days before the scheduled start of the Cheltenham Festival. Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, reported that the number of positive tests for the virus has risen to 35 after 12 new patients were identified in England. Whitty said three patients were close contacts of a known Covid-19 case that was transmitted within the UK--believed to be a Surrey resident--while another new patient, from Essex, has no relevant international travel to...

When Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al-Faisal, chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, unveiled his plans for the world's richest horse race last summer in Saratoga, I duly covered the event for TDN. But it wasn't until months later that the idea started percolating in my head that maybe I would actually go see the race for myself. As a kid from New Jersey who loves to travel the world and grew up reading Black Stallion novels, there is something almost mystical about Saudi Arabia--a country that seemed as...

Three meetings at in France next week are to take place behind closed doors in a response to the coronavirus outbreak. At Compiegne, Monday's jumps card and the Wednesday fixture on the Flat will have no paying customers, with the order coming from the mayor of Compiegne and the president of the Compiegne Racing Society. It is a similar story at Chantilly, where Tuesday's programme will not be open to the public. Racing professionals will be admitted as normal. The move is the first of its kind for the sport...

British racing's coronavirus steering group-comprising the British Horseracing Authority, the Racecourse Association and horsemen-announced racing would "continue as usual" and stressed there was "no need to develop a policy regarding abandonment of any specific fixtures due to coronavirus at this time," after meeting on Friday. Within the last 24 hours, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Britain has risen from three to 19, and a first case was confirmed in Wales. "We will continue to speak to government and should a situation arise where this is required then the...