coronavirus and horse racing

Monday's meeting at Kelso Racecourse in Scotland will be contested behind closed doors, following the Scottish government's advice to delay the spread of coronavirus by cancelling mass gatherings. All Irish racing is closed to the public until Mar. 29, and France Galop put a similar measure in place on Friday, while Osarus postponed his breeze-up sale by five weeks. Britain has not yet barred spectators from any race meetings. The British Horseracing Authority issued a statement on Friday that read, "British racing continues to be in close contact with the...

The French-based Osarus sales company has announced that its breeze-up sale will be postponed until May 12 and 13, in the week after the Arqana Breeze-up Sale in Deauville. Seventy-nine 2-year-olds have been catalogued for the sale, with horses having originally been set to gallop at La Teste de Buch racecourse near Bordeaux on Apr. 8 and the sale conducted the following day. A statement released by Osarus on Friday read, "Due to the rising number of cases of coronavirus during the past few days and subsequent travel restrictions, the...