COVID-19

Tickets for reserved seating for the RUNHAPPY Summer Meet at Ellis Park, conducted from July 2 to Aug. 30, are available at www.ellisparkracing.com. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, racetracks may host up to 50% capacity and general admission seating will not be available to spectators for the meet, with the exception being horse owners. Spectators are required to have a ticketed seat, with food and beverages delivered by servers to designated seating areas. The Dade Park Grill on the first floor of the Clubhouse will be the only...

Owners will be able to start attending race meetings in a safe and risk-managed way in the UK on July 4, under plans agreed by the Racecourse Assocation (RCA), Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), the BHA announced on Monday. There will be two test fixtures-July 1 at Southwell and Kempton Park-to pilot protocols and allow for a thorough review of the processes in place to facilitate a smooth implementation, with guidelines to help owners adjust to new protocols and procedures available here. Owners will be...

Newbury has created 'Pub in the Paddock', a pop-up for guests to watch the July 4 G1 Investec Derby. As well as the Derby, the Oaks will also be shown along with two live Premier League matches next Saturday. Tables and chairs will be set at socially-distanced levels, and the bars will be accepting only cashless payments. Tickets were free, but all available for a maximum attendance of 300 have already been reserved. Harriet Collins, Newbury's head of public relations, said, "With beer gardens opening, we felt that it was...

Face covering regulations for jockeys have been revised, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Saturday. There has been a hot spell in the UK as summer begins. The new protocols are as follows: Prior to a race, jockeys are required to wear a face covering (which covers nose and mouth) from the time they depart the changing area in the weighing room. The wearing of face coverings during the race is recommended. However, jockeys are permitted to pull down the face covering in the moments immediately prior to the start...

With its two annual fundraising events in Saratoga Springs, NY cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York Race Track Chaplaincy will instead host "Champions Talk", an event featuring five prominent personalities from the world of sports and horse racing, which will premiere Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. ET. The five individuals are Hall of Fame jockeys Angel Cordero Jr. and Ramon Dominguez, GI Kentucky Derby-winning owner Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds, Churchill Downs's all-time leading trainer Dale Romans and Pro Football Hall of Fame and two-time...

After submitting its proposal to allow fans to attend this year's GI Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs officials are expecting to hear back from Governor Andy Beshear this week. At his press briefing Monday, Beshear said he is reviewing Churchill's proposal and would announce a decision shortly. Alluding to the GI Belmont S., where fans were not allowed in the stands, Beshear said he envisioned that the Kentucky Derby will be "different" than the Belmont. "I believe that Churchill Downs made a very good decision to move the race," the governor...

TDN Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin has been selected as one of two winners of the Breeders' Cup T-Shirt Design Contest, a philanthropic art competition that tasked entrants to create original artwork to be printed and sold in support of backstretch communities and other industry stakeholders affected by COVID-19. Crelin, a Belford, NJ resident was chosen along with Alexa Zapp of Lawrence, KS by the judging panel out of five finalists populated from an original pool of 93 entrants. The two winners will each receive two VIP tickets to the 2020...

A day after announcing that it will be open to a limited number of fans when its racing season commences July 3, Monmouth Park announced Tuesday that owners will be permitted to watch their horses work from a designated area from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Fridays through Sundays starting Friday, June 26. Monmouth Park has been closed to all but essential personnel since March 16, when restrictions were put into place to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Under a special permit that allows for re-purposing of restaurants...

British racing resumed behind closed doors on June 1, and now, with these first weeks back going well and in accordance with the UK government's safety protocols, the British Horseracing Authority is working on a template to allow owners to observe their horses race on location. In a letter sent to racehorse owners on Monday by the BHA, the BHA's Chief Operating Officer Richard Wayman thanked the owners for their support in these challenging times due to the coronavirus situation and outlined plans for their return in the near future....

All of the breezes for the upcoming Tattersalls Craven & Ascot Breeze Up Sale will be shown live at www.tattersalls.com on both the Tattersalls main page and the Tattersalls Ascot main page, the sales company announced on Sunday. Beginning at 9 a.m. local time at Newmarket's Rowley Mile on June 22, the breezes will be split, with the Craven Breeze Up Sale juveniles going first and the Ascot Breeze Up 2-year-olds breezing second. The sale proper will begin at 11 a.m. on June 25. Individual videos of the breezes will...

ELMONT, NY -- Shortened to 1 1/8 miles and to be contested free of spectators, the 152nd renewal of the GI Belmont S. kicks off a reshuffled Triple Crown Saturday. The winner will have to wait until the first Saturday in September for the GI Kentucky Derby, however, to continue a bid for what would have to go down as the most unique of sweeps if able to join the legendary previous 13 to do so. The series concludes with the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Oct. 3. Welcome to...

The history of Belmont Park, believe it or not, goes back over 350 years, to when America itself wasn't even an idea yet. In 1665, New York's colonial governor Richard Nicholl constructed a racetrack called Newmarket in Queens. It stood for over a century, and proved so popular that even after the British were expelled in 1783, a thirst for horse racing lived on in the hearts of newly independent New Yorkers. Union Course sprouted up in 1821 and became the country's leading track. After that came Brighton Beach Race...