COVID-19

by Anne Sabatino Hardy Executive Director, Horse Country That's the number left over when you subtract attendance numbers of the record-high 2015 Kentucky Derby (170,513) from the 202,000 views of Claiborne Farm's virtual stallion tour on Facebook (March 17). In fact the TDN's own post-production treatments of virtual tours and unique online content have spawned their own virality. Right now, there's no place more populated than the internet and social media. It's safe. It doesn't require planes, trains or automobiles. It's low-cost, low-barrier and high desire. And, interestingly, the same...

Asked in his daily coronavirus briefing Wednesday about the potential opening of Saratoga Race Course this summer, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that he thinks a decision will likely have to be made on a statewide, if not region-wide level. He added that his concern is if Saratoga is opened alone without coordination with other counties and states, it could see even more demand than usual, leading to density issues. He didn't address and wasn't asked about the possibility of Saratoga conducting racing without spectators. "You can't open an...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association compiled a summary of benefits available to owners under the latest federal COVID-19 legislation. Benefits available to horse owners includes: Tax Benefits: Owners may be entitled to some new tax benefits that allow them to file amended returns for prior years and get cash in the form of tax refunds. Net operating losses can now be carried back for up to five years. This applies to C corporations and individuals who generate net business losses. The IRS is currently accepting faxed refund requests in order...

We hope this finds you and your family well. It's hard to believe that this is typically a week with so much buzz and excitement in our industry leading into the first Saturday of May. We look forward to the days when our industry is fully up and running again. Toward this goal, Keeneland is committed to doing everything possible to ensure a safe and secure environment for conducting Thoroughbred auctions this fall and to maintain market stability. As you saw yesterday, Fasig-Tipton has moved its July and Saratoga yearling...

To help equine charities in this time of need, Equine Equipment is working with Exmark and local dealers in its new "Now More Than Ever" giving campaign to facilitate the donation of eight 21" Exmark commercial mowers valued at $1,200 each to local charities in Florida. Similar donations are in the works for other locations around the country with up to 50 charities receiving support. "We've always tried to do our part to give back to the industry, and we believe that to be more important than ever right now,"...

Birmingham Race Course, a former Thoroughbred track in Alabama that has exclusively run greyhounds since 1995, has announced it will no longer be in the business of live racing, making it the first North American pari-mutuel venue to close in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report by the Associated Press, management wants the track to remain open for simulcasting and historical horse race gaming, which it launched last autumn. Birmingham last raced live Mar. 18, but the facility has been closed since then because of a...

A New York Times study published Tuesday reporting where the COVID-19 outbreak is peaking and waning based on per-capita population statistics shows that Grand Island, Nebraska, where Fonner Park is located, is currently second in the nation in terms of news cases reported in the last two weeks. Grand Island has a population of 85,000. The Times reported 764 coronavirus cases there in the last two weeks, meaning the per-thousand infection number is 8.98. Only Marion, Ohio, was higher (32.13) based on per-capita rankings. On Apr. 22, the Nebraska Racing...

Having attracted 22 entries Sunday for next Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby, Oaklawn Park has split the race for sophomores into two divisions for the first time ever. Each race will carry a $500,000 purse--the Arkansas Derby was originally scheduled to be held Apr. 11 and worth $750,000. "Because of our national crisis, we and the entire world of sports are in uncharted waters requiring unprecedented actions," said Oaklawn President Louis Cella. "We're trying to make the best of a very, very difficult situation. On the one hand, it is the...

The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton The COVID-19 virus has quarantined this week's GI Kentucky Derby, which has been rescheduled for Sept. 5. The last time America's most famous horse race got pushed off its traditional first Saturday in May calendar spot was 1945, when the nation was embroiled in World War II. It's impossible to make accurate comparisons between a global conflict and a pandemic that are happening 75 years apart. But sifting through archived news clippings about how horse racing endured and eventually overcame that long, government-mandated...

After some British trainers, among them Ralph Beckett and Mark Johnston, called for the resignation of British Horseracing Authority CEO Nick Rust due to his handling of British racing during the COVID-19 crisis, the Board of the BHA released a statement in support of Rust and his team on Sunday afternoon. The Sunday Telegraph first reported the trainers had written to the BHA's Chairwoman Annamarie Phelps requesting Rust's resignation. Rust will be leaving his position as CEO of the BHA at the end of the year. The BHA's statement read:...

For the team at the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs, this is normally their favorite time of year. Backstretch workers return home from working in warmer locations over the winter, families are reunited, and there's a general sense of community and solidarity. The Kentucky Derby is just a few weeks away and fundraising is in overdrive. But this year looks quite different. For starters, there is a much smaller community to serve. While the Backside Learning Center normally serves about 1,000 workers this time of year along with their...

Arlington Park and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA) remain bitterly deadlocked over months-long contract negotiations for the now-delayed 2020 meet. Both sides understand that the scheduled May 1 start of racing isn't going to happen because of COVID-19 restrictions, which tightened further Thursday when Illinois extended a statewide stay-at-home order through May. But the new sticking point, which emerged during testimony at Friday's Illinois Racing Board (IRB) tele-meeting, centers on the horsemen wanting to ink a only a one-year deal because of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, while track management's...