COVID-19
The Thoroughbred Owners of California issued the following updates to its members Saturday related to the COVID-19 pandemic and current closures of Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields: Racing Cancelled at Golden Gate Fields In accordance with an order received Thursday, Apr. 2 from the Alameda County Public Health Officer, Golden Gate Fields has temporarily closed for live racing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While there is no specific time frame for return of racing, stabling and daily training will continue at Golden Gate for the approximately 1000...
"We are the silver lining in any and every dark cloud we could ever find. There is no need to go looking for the light when you bring it with you." -Tyler Knott Gregson TDN Intern Katie Ritz polled a series of industry members to see if they had found anything good that has come out of the current crisis. Their responses will appear every day in the TDN. To submit your own, email suefinley@thetdn.com ANNA FORD New Vocations is doing its best to continue operating as much...
The Stronach Group and Maryland Jockey Club are looking into new dates for the GI Preakness S., which is currently scheduled for May 16, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, TSG announced Friday.The annual InfieldFest is canceled. TSG issued the following statement: "The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club are continuing to work with our key stakeholders to explore all options to set a new date for the running of Preakness 145. Our first priority in these difficult times is the health and well-being of our customers, our vendors,...
On Mar. 19, the New York Racing Association suspended racing for an undetermined period after a backstretch worker tested positive for COVID-19, which left New York horsemen scrambling to adjust and come up with Plan B for themselves, their horses and their staff. Nine days later--following the announcement that Aqueduct had been approved as a temporary hospital site--NYRA announced that the rest of the Aqueduct winter meet would be canceled and the Ozone Park oval would not host its traditional spring meet, headlined by the GII Wood Memorial S. "On...
Pursuant to guidance issued Thursday morning by the Alameda County Public Health Officer, Golden Gate Fields in Albany, CA, will shut down temporarily for live racing effective immediately as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A release from the track reads: "At Golden Gate Fields, the health, safety and welfare of every person and every horse in our community is our top priority. At this time, there are no known cases of COVID-19 at Golden Gate Fields. This measure is being taken in response to a mandate from Alameda...
Following Wednesday's announcement by Horse Racing Ireland that the Irish National Hunt season has been ended prematurely amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has now announced that jump racing in Britain will break until July 1. The move has been instigated following a proposal put forward by the National Trainers Federation (NTF) in order to provide clarity to trainers and owners in the jumping sector. The 2019/20 National Hunt season would normally have ended at Sandown on April 25, but that meeting has been lost during the...
Produced by NYRA in partnership with FOX Sports, America's Day at the Races will air on FS1/FS2 Saturday and Sunday for a combined 11 hours of national television coverage. On Saturday, it will air on FS1 from 1:30 to 6 p.m. and then will move to FS2 from 6 to 7 p.m. On Sunday, coverage begins on FS2 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., moves to FS1 from 2:30 to 6 p.m. and returns to FS2 from 6 to 7 p.m. With racing at Aqueduct Racetrack currently suspended due to the...
The Executive Committee of the Aiken Training Track cut the track usage fee in half for horses training on the surface Monday in light of the COVID-19 crisis. The monthly track usage fee of $200 per horse has been dropped to $100, at least through the month of April 2020. "We want to help our loyal trainers at this time of economic uncertainty. We plan to watch over our monthly track usage fee with an eye to assisting our hard-working trainers as they try very hard to withstand the numerous...
"We are the silver lining in any and every dark cloud we could ever find. There is no need to go looking for the light when you bring it with you." -Tyler Knott Gregson TDN Intern Katie Ritz polled a series of industry members to see if they had found anything good that has come out of the current crisis. Their responses will appear every day in the TDN. To submit your own, email suefinley@thetdn.com CRAIG BERNICK For me, it has been nice to be back in Ocala...
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance issued its second round of grant checks early in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants totaled $1.7 million. TAA President John Phillips issued the following statement: "Amid a global crisis, even one that closes the doors to many businesses, horses still need care. Thanks to our supporters, industry partners, sustainable funding programs, and rigorous financial discipline throughout our history, the TAA is able to continue its mission of accrediting and funding aftercare organizations, even during this difficult time. More than ever, work of aftercare is...
The 161st running of The Queen's Plate will be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Woodbine Entertainment announced Wednesday. The event was originally scheduled for Saturday, June 27. While a new date has not been confirmed, Woodbine said in a statement that it intends to host The Queen's Plate at Woodbine this year, subject to recommendations and restrictions from government and health officials related to the COVID-19 pandemic. "The Queen's Plate is the oldest continuously run race in North America and we have every intention of keeping it that way,"...
With the two-week experiment to continue racing at Fonner Park having resulted in record handle numbers for the Grand Island, Nebraska track, management has agreed to keep racing going through the month of April. The 2020 meet is scheduled to close May 2. Three weeks ago, horsemen were told that Fonner was shutting down because of the coronavirus. They went to management and reached an agreement to stay open for a trial period. A track that normally ran Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, Fonner went to a Monday-through-Wednesday schedule where it...