COVID-19

Ryan Moore, who rides first call for Ballydoyle trainer Aidan O'Brien, has entered quarantine in Ireland as of last Saturday and will be riding in Ireland at Irish Champions Weekend on Sept. 12-13. These will be Moore's first rides in Ireland in 2020, as COVID-19 has kept him in the UK earlier in the season. "As people travelling from the UK to Ireland currently have to quarantine on arrival for 14 days, I flew over immediately after racing at Goodwood last Saturday afternoon so that I could ride at the...

Keeneland released COVID-19 procedures for jockeys who will ride during the 17-day Fall Meet, running from Oct. 2-24. Jockey COVID-19 testing protocols: Jockeys who plan to ride opening day (Oct. 2) will be required to be in Lexington Tuesday, Sept. 29 and receive a COVID-19 test at Keeneland. Jockeys who plan to ride at Keeneland after opening day will need to provide a CDC gold standard RT-PCR COVID-19 nasopharyngeal test confirmed negative within 72 hours of the day of their first race. A jockey who races at Keeneland and leaves...

Jockey Ben Curtis was escorted from Newmarket Friday and will be sidelined for 14 days after breaching COVID-19 protocols. The all-weather champion for the 2019/20 campaign, he currently is fourth in the Flat jockeys' championship standings. A British Horseracing Authority spokesperson said Friday, "He will not be permitted to enter a racecourse for 14 days from today as per the published COVID-19 requirements whilst the matter is investigated further." Trainer Gary Moore was fined £750 earlier this month after breaching protocols at Goodwood, while Mark Gillard and his assistant Steven...

A $32.4-billion budget proposal announced Tuesday by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy does not include a $20-million annual subsidy that has been split between the state's Thoroughbred and harness industries. The story was first reported by the website njonlinegambling.com. The subsidy was signed into law in 2019 as a way to help New Jersey's struggling tracks, the only tracks in the region that did not benefit from revenues from casinos. The bill called for $100 million in subsidies to be paid out over five years but also had a provision...

A nine-day Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet will be added to the Thoroughbred racing calendar starting on Preakness Day, Saturday, Oct. 3, pending regulatory approval. Live racing will be held Oct. 3 and 4 at Monmouth Park and then every Wednesday and Saturday for the remainder of the month. There will also be a special Columbus Day holiday program Monday, Oct. 12. The Meadowlands-at-Monmouth meet will feature a stakes schedule totaling $900,000, highlighted by the GIII Monmouth S. at 1 1/8 miles on the turf Oct. 10. First race post time throughout...

Gulfstream Park donated more than 500 pre-packaged hot meals Tuesday to staff members at nearby Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. Gulfstream Chef Giovanni Arias, Executive Sous Chef Juan Magana and the entire Food & Beverage staff prepared the meals before delivering them to the Hollywod, FL hospital, with which Gulfstream has had a long partnership, including donations and yearly visits to patients by jockeys and trainers. "[Tuesday] was a special day at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. We received a delicious lunch that was specially made just for us. We are grateful...

The Pertemps St Leger Festival at Doncaster is one of eight meetings that will be staged with crowds as part of stage five of the UK government's plan to return spectators to elite sport, the Racecourse Association announced on Wednesday. Doncaster's four-day Classic meeting from Sept. 9-12, a Sept. 21 Warwick fixture, and Newmarket's Cambridgeshire Meeting from Sept. 24-26 have all been greenlit to allow racegoers in limited fashion. In Doncaster's case, a maximum of 3,640 spectators will be allowed on the first day, increasing to 6,202 for the final...

The past two weeks has proven a veritable roller coaster ride for Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. After opting to keep his operation in Kentucky for the summer rather than shift to upstate New York as he has done for over the past four decades, Lukas admitted that earlier this month, he began to feel less than 'perfect,' although he didn't present any of the classic symptoms that went with COVID-19. At least not initially. "I was being checked at the gate every day and I didn't have a...

Despite massive COVID-19 prevention protocols, the postponed 2020 Hokkaido Selection Sale drew a strong crowd, easily as big as normal years despite protocols requiring everyone to pre-register for entry credentials. The looming pandemic-induced global recession also seemed to have little effect on the sale, which set records on nearly all fronts despite being pushed back a little over a month from its usual mid-July date. While the clearance rate was 82.5%, down from last year's record of 83.5%, it was the best year of the sale by every other measure...

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who reportedly had tested positive for coronavirus last week and was in isolation, has recovered from the illness and received a negative COVID-19 test result, according to a tweet from his grandson Brady Wayne Lukas Sunday morning. "Wayne has completed the isolation period and has received a negative test result," Lukas said. "He's back!" The 84-year-old conditioner was first reported to be positive for COVID-19 Aug. 12. In a tweet, Brady Lukas said, "Wayne recently tested positive for COVID-19 and has since been...

Earlier this week, Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton released their joint safety protocols for their upcoming September Sales, which included a credential system for all attendees, including buyers. All consignors and their staffs, vets and their staffs and media are required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test 10 days prior to the start of the Sept. 9-10 Fasig-Tipton Sale. Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton have partnered with a trusted technology provider, Virtual Badge, to serve their digital credential needs for both September sales. Both sales companies will share a common credential, accessible...

Arlington International Racecourse is awaiting decisions from local and state health officials that would pave the way for spectators to once again be allowed at the races under socially distanced pandemic precautions. The plan calls for a phased-in approach that would start with horse owners being allowed back to the track, then ramping up attendance to allow 2,000 people into the plant for live racing on the day of the GI Kentucky Derby simulcast. The Daily Herald of suburban Chicago first broke the story Friday. Arlington has proposed hosting 500...