COVID-19

A total of six semi-finalists, from 15 submissions, for the 2020 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award have been selected by a panel of racing industry and literary judges. The semi-finalists are: Better Lucky Than Good: Tall Tales and Straight Talk from the Backside of the Track, by Louisville Story Program Justify: 111 Days to Triple Crown Glory, by Lenny Shulman The Key to the Quarter Pole, by Robin Traywick Williams Spectacular Bid: The Last Superhorse of the Twentieth Century, by Peter Lee The Travers: 150 Years of Saratoga's Greatest Race,...

The race was just a $20,000 maiden claimer, but the importance of the moment was not lost on Belmont track announcer John Imbriale, who welcomed racing back to New York Wednesday. "We can finally say...they're off and running at New York's Belmont Park," Imbriale called out as the field burst from the gate. And as Star of the West (Flashback) crossed the wire to win the opener, Imbriale once again recognized that this race was something special. "It's now official. New York sports is back and beautiful Belmont Park is...

   Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs in Oklahoma, one of the handful of North American racetracks that was able to continue racing throughout the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, concluded its meet May 20 with significant handle increases, as expected. More than $131 million was wagered in total (from 17 more races than in 2019) for a 687% increase over the $16.8 million bet the previous year. "Our racing shifted steadily toward center stage this spring. I am very proud that we were able to complete our season safely," said...

While many questions regarding the Coronavirus pandemic remain unanswered, and with a stock market experiencing extreme volatility, there is continued uncertainty as to what could happen in our industry over the next few years. But many people in the industry have been through such ambiguity before. We sought the advice of industry leaders who successfully made their way through the Great Recession, and we asked what they learned from it and how they will use their experiences to advance through the coming years. VIVIEN MALLOY, Edition Farm It's a very...

There will be nine more UK fixtures in June and July catering to horses rated in the 50s and high 40s, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Tuesday. Also emphasised during the new fixtures are novice races, with the updated British fixture list available here and an updated race programme through June 30 is available on the Racing Admin site. July's race programme will be published by early next week. The nine new fixtures are as follows: June 10 - Wolverhampton June 11 - Newbury June 15 - Kempton Park...

Racing will resume in Wales behind closed doors on June 15th, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and the Welsh courses announced on Monday. Chepstow will be the first track active, with summer Jumps racing at Bangor-on-Dee resuming in July and October sees the resumption of Ffos Las. The established protocols released for racing behind closed doors in the UK will be closely adhered to. "I'm delighted to see the return of racing in Wales at Chepstow next month as ensuring that racing gets back up and running in all three...

While many questions regarding the Coronavirus pandemic remain unanswered, and with a stock market experiencing extreme volatility, there is continued uncertainty as to what could happen in our industry over the next few years. But many people in the industry have been through such ambiguity before. We sought the advice of industry leaders who successfully made their way through the Great Recession of 2008, and we asked what they learned from it and how they will use their experiences to guide them through the coming years. GRAY LYSTER, Ashview Farm...

Constant, blazing sunshine will welcome back Europe's Group 1 Classics at Deauville on Monday while Berlin-Hoppegarten join in with the first of their own domestic Classics on a day that will be relished by all the racing community. While the G1 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Pouliches are an all-French affair in 2020 and the former is missing the country's leading juvenile of 2019 in Earthlight (Ire) (Shamardal), there are two Group 1 winners engaged to add gravitas to a renewal forever to be marked with an asterisk. Both...

Racing Welfare's Best Turned Out, supported by Betfair, will see the charity award the BTO prize in the G3 Palace House S. at Newmarket on Saturday, June 6th, the charity announced on Sunday. The race has been renamed the G3 Betfair Supports Racing Welfare Palace House S. in honour of the initiative. All yards with a runner in the race will be offered the chance to submit a short video clip or image of their preparation in the lead up to the race, with the winner determined by public vote...

The G1 2000 Guineas card at Newmarket on June 6 and Japan's G1 Yasuda Kinen on June 7 will be simulcast for betting beginning in the late evening of Saturday, June 6, the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced on Sunday. Newmarket's seven races are headed by the 2000 Guineas, where European Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal) is expected to take part. Meanwhile in Japan the next day, the 1600-metre G1 Yasuda Kinen features Japanese Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and the race will be...

The Laurel Park summer race meet is a go, starting Saturday. A 28-date schedule was approved by a unanimous teleconference vote of the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) at its Thursday meeting. After an initial Saturday-through-Monday, three-date opening spanning May 30-June 1, Fridays and Saturdays will be the primary live racing dates through Aug. 22 (a Monday, June 8, program is also scheduled, according to the Laurel calendar). Alan Rifkin, an attorney for the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC), which owns Laurel, explained to the commission the rationale behind scaling back to...

Despite being given the green-light by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to resume racing, albeit without spectators, in the state as early as June 1, Arlington International Racecourse, which had indicated previously it would not resume live racing without spectators (TDN, May 22), Tweeted Wednesday it would remain closed through at least July 4. "In support of, and with respect to the Governor's re-opening plan for businesses that may encourage mass gatherings, and in the interest of public safety, Arlington International Racecourse has made the decision to suspend the opening of...