COVID-19
For the Del Mar Fall meet, which begins Saturday, Oct. 31, all CHRB licensed owners will be permitted on track for both morning workouts and afternoon races. Unfortunately, due to state and local guidelines, non-licensed guests are still not permitted. Owners wishing to attend the races should email or call Mary Forney, Executive Director of TOC (mforney@toconline.com) to secure access, and reservations can be made up until 24 hours before race day. To attend morning workouts, no advanced reservation is required. On race days, owners must show their license when...
Churchill Downs will open its 131st Fall Meet Sunday, Oct. 25, by allowing spectators for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began this past spring. It will mark the first time this year that fans can attend live racing at Churchill. The Louisville track will continue to follow the COVID-19 health and safety protocols mandated by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Temperature checks, medical questionnaires, physical distancing and mandatory face coverings will be required. Capacity will be limited as per Kentucky's requirements for venues and event spaces. Last year's average...
In an effort to further enhance existing COVID-19 control measures, all racecourse attendees at behind closed doors race fixtures will be required to wear a face covering at all times while at the beginning Monday, Oct. 26. Face coverings (i.e. non-medical face coverings) must be worn at the racecourse by all attendees who are not identified as needing certified/higher grade PPE (e.g. medical and cleaning staff). Face coverings will be required in all indoor and outdoor areas of both the Green Zone and Owner Zone throughout the day. For more...
The catalogue for the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale is now online. Moved from its normal November slot to Dec. 21 due to the current Level 5 COVID restrictions imposed by the Irish government, the sale has featured in the past the dams of 2020 Group 1 winners Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}), Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never), and Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}). The 2020 edition will see 270 mares and fillies go under the hammer...
Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), a Group 3 winner in two starts, will skip an intended engagement in the Breeders' Cup and will instead point to next year and the G1 English 1000 Guineas. Trained by Jane Chapple-Hyam, the chestnut won on debut at Newmarket in September and then saluted in the G3 Oh So Sharp S. there on Oct. 9. "She's going to have a rest now, before she comes back for the Nell Gwyn and the Guineas," said trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam. "The main reason we're not going...
The 2020 Horserace Writers and Photographers Association Derby Awards will be staged on Sky Sports Racing, the HWPA announced on Tuesday. Slated for Dec. 10, the awards programme, supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, will be hosted by Martin Kelly. Normally, the awards are held in London in front of 600 guests, but that is not possible due to COVID-19. "We are extremely grateful to Sky Sports Racing for agreeing to host the 2020 Derby Awards, and to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for their continued support," said HWPA...
The remaining 2020 Tattersalls Ireland sales have been postponed to December after the Irish government moved the country to Level 5 COVID-19 restrictions on Monday evening. The November National Hunt Sale will be held on Dec. 12-14. The November Flat Foal & Breeding Stock Sale, including a yearling section, is now set for Dec. 16, and the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale will be conducted on Dec. 17. The three sales were originally slated for Nov. 9-13. "In these uncertain times we must plan as best as we can for further...
The ITBA Autumn Series of Online Workshops was revealed by the ITBA on Monday. The three workshops are free, as due to COVID-19 fees have been waved. The schedule is as follows: Workshop 1: Mental Health First Aid on Oct. 29 from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Workshop 2: Introduction to Equisoft on Nov. 5 from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Workshop 3: Introduction to ZOOM Online Meeting on Nov. 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information on the workshops and to sign up, email kryan@itba.ie.
NYRA released its COVID-19 protocols Saturday for jockeys riding at the Aqueduct fall meet, which runs from Nov. 6 to Dec. 6. Members of the Aqueduct jockey colony who travel to ride at any other racetrack during the fall meet will be required to provide two negative COVID-19 tests taken within a five-day window in order to return to ride at Aqueduct. Jockeys traveling out of state who have completed the required testing will then be physically isolated in the jockey quarters for three additional calendar days. Jockeys not currently...
As we have come to expect, in a trading environment that nowadays owes so much to their boss, it was the guys at Spendthrift who first put their heads over the parapet. This week, anyway. To be fair, the original lead actually came from Chuck Fipke--a match for the unorthodoxy and initiative even of B. Wayne Hughes, and prepared way back in the spring to waive his 2020 stallion fees altogether. Fipke reasoned that his entire pitch was to small breeders, who were already looking down the barrel as the...
NEWMARKET, UK--Like a cyclist who has been struggling into a bitter headwind, only to find himself suddenly towed along by the slipstream of a juggernaut, Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale opened with all the startling momentum achieved, against every temperate expectation, in Book 2. Once again, the masks around the ring concealed gapes of incredulity as a brisk trade maintained all indices almost precisely in step with the returns last year, when the wider world was so very different a place. Aggregate turnover of 5,092,700gns, through the...
The 2021 White Turf meeting at St. Moritz in Switzerland will not take place due to COVID-19, the St. Moritz Racing Association (SMRA) announced on Thursday. The unique winter event has been postponed to Feb. 6, 13, and 20 of 2022, instead. As it stands, there have been an increasing number of coronavirus infections according to the Swiss Federal Office for Public Health (BAG). The Snow Polo World Cup was also postponed earlier this month, and, as the SMRA share the costs of building the tent city on the lake...