COVID-19

Mark Casse topped the Woodbine trainers leaderboard for the 12th time with 93 wins during the abbreviated 2020 meet. Beginning June 6, the meet was originally scheduled to conclude Dec. 13, but was forced to end early Nov. 22 due to a government-mandated lockdown for the region of Ontario due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The jockeys' race went right down to the wire with Rafael Hernandez edging out Justin Stein. It was the first riding title at Woodbine for Hernandez, who racked up 129 wins. Barber was the leading money-winning...

While attempts were made to reach an agreement with the Ontario government to continue racing despite a mandatory 28-day lockdown of Toronto and its suburbs, Woodbine Entertainment announced Thursday that the track's 2020 Thoroughbred meet was officially over. "While I am extremely disappointed we are not able to complete the 2020 Thoroughbred meet, what we achieved this year in face of significant adversity is quite remarkable," said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. "I have been around horse racing my entire life and I can proudly say that I have never...

Founder, president and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds Terry Finley joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday to discuss an array of industry issues and potential solutions. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Finley provided his insights on how the game can better attract new customers, whether or not racing's drug problem is finally going to be cleaned up, the evolution of the owner partnership and much more. Asked about how his friends who are casual observers of racing view the sport,...

The 2021 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Irish Stallion Trail will be held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, ITM announced on Wednesday. Instead, the event has been branded the ITM Irish Stallion Showcase, a digital and media event highlighting the success and appeal of Irish stallion farms. There will be videos from a range of Irish stallion farms, social media content, and an ad campaign which will be released from mid-December 2020, with a concentrated period of content going out from Jan. 11-16. "The ITM Irish Stallion Trail has become...

Spectators will be allowed to return to sporting events in Tiers 1 and 2 in England as the COVID-19 cases in those areas decreases. Racing ceased in mid-March as the coronavirus pandemic began, and resumed behind closed doors on June 1. There were two small pilot events held at Doncaster and Warwick, but racing continued fanless under the new autumn lockdown imposed last month. A joint statement from the British Horseracing Authority, The Horsemen's Group and the Racecourse Association read: "The leaders of British horseracing have welcomed the government's decision...

Shortly after announcing that the final three weeks of its Thoroughbred meet would be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, Woodbine was forced to cancel races seven through 13 on Sunday's card due to inclement weather, effectively ending the meet. Among the races cancelled Sunday were renewals of the GIII Grey S. for 2-year-old males and GIII Mazarine S. for juvenile fillies. In a brief statement, Woodbine said, "Woodbine Racetrack was forced to cancel the remainder of its live Thoroughbred racing program on Sunday, Nov. 22 following the sixth race due...

As a result of the Government of Ontario's announcement Friday that Toronto will be entering the Province's grey 'Lockdown' phase of coronavirus-related restrictions, Woodbine Entertainment announced that Sunday will be the last day in 2020 of Thoroughbred racing in the Province. "We have been, and continue to be, extremely supportive of the Government's efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout our Province and appreciate the many difficult decisions they have to make," said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. "We have approached the Government to explain the impacts this decision...

Golden Gate Fields and the City of Berkeley Public Health issued the following update Friday evening with regards to a COVID-19 outbreak at the track which has shut down racing at least through November: City of Berkeley Public Health continues to work closely with Golden Gate Fields on a significant outbreak where more than 200 people living or working on-site at the racetrack have tested positive for COVID-19. 1/ST RACING, which operates the track, is following all of the City's recommendations for testing, quarantine and isolation. The steps they have...

In memory of the late champion jockey Pat Smullen, Irish racing stars have pledged their support in the fundraising efforts of the Children's Health Foundation Crumlin, which aims to purchase a spinal cell saver auto transfusion device for the children's hospital, CHI at Crumlin. In the coming weeks, jockeys and racing personalities will call on racing and sports fans for donations towards the essential blood transfusion equipment. John Butler, Jockeys' Sports Physiotherapist and Paul Quish, Racecourse Announcer, who spearheaded the campaign in 2019, both agreed: "Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, everyone...

An active jockey at Woodbine has tested positive for COVID-19. The jockey will not be permitted to access Woodbine Racetrack for a minimum of 14 days while self-quarantining. At the conclusion of the 14-day self-quarantine, the jockey will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to being allowed to return to Woodbine Racetrack. In following these established protocols, contact tracing has been performed and individuals who were in close contact with the jockey who tested positive are being notified. Those individuals, which includes one other jockey,...

In following the guidance from local health authorities, Golden Gate Fields has announced the suspension of live racing through November in a continuing effort to ensure the safety and well-being of 1/ST RACING employees and those working on the backstretch and the extended community. Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Golden Gate Fields has implemented stringent health and safety measures including, strict social distancing, masking policies and regular COVID-19 testing with isolation requirements for any positive cases or identified close contacts. Last week, Golden Gate Fields announced a one-week...

As in year's past, the jockey colony at Indiana Grand will provide toys for the local "Breakfast with Santa" event Saturday, Dec. 12. This season, the jockeys will donate a total of 61 toys, a new record for the annual toy drive. "I have three kids myself and we are fortunate enough to provide toys for them," said Manny Esquivel. "I come from a very poor place in Mexico, and just thinking about it, it's hard to think about kids not getting toys for Christmas. I used to play with...