COVID-19 pandemic

The New York Racing Association, Inc. has announced race dates for the 27-day Belmont fall meet, including 38 stakes worth $5.58 million in purse money, that will kick off Friday, Sept. 18 and run through Sunday, Nov. 1. Following opening weekend at Belmont, live racing will be conducted Thursday through Sunday with the exception of Columbus Day weekend, when live racing will be offered Monday, Oct. 12 and return Friday, Oct. 16. The Belmont Park fall meet has traditionally opened on the Friday following Labor Day. Due to the continued...

Colonial Downs has canceled the remainder of its 2020 meeting due to COVID-19, it was announced Friday evening. Colonial Downs canceled racing Tuesday and Wednesday after leading jockey Trevor McCarthy tested positive for COVID-19, per a report in Daily Racing Form. "Colonial Downs Group places the health and safety of our team, partners and visitors as our top priority," a statement from Colonial Downs read. "We established thorough protocols prior to the 2020 racing season to address any issues that may arise from the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of...

Each year, team members at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino participate in numerous activities to raise funds for Shelby County United Fund For You (SCUFFY). With disruptions to business and restrictions in place due to COVID-19, many of the events were not held and have affected the overall fundraising efforts. As a result, Indiana Grand made a $20,000 donation to the organization Tuesday, Aug. 11. "This campaign season has been a roller coaster," said Alecia Gross, executive director of SCUFFY. "The community has been fabulous to step up and support...

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has tested positive for COVID-19. "Wayne recently tested positive for COVID-19 and has since been isolating at home and following CDC and health care provider guidelines," a statement from his team read. "Fortunately, he had not been at work for several days prior to the symptoms, so no one else at the barn is impacted. Wayne is recovering at home and looks forward to getting back to the track. He is available to answer any questions regarding your horses. All the day-to-day operations...

Due to circumstances that arose with the coronavirus pandemic, Parx Racing has canceled all of its open stakes for the remainder of the year, including the GI Pennsylvania Derby and the GI Cotillion S. The two $1-million events were part of a program that had been scheduled for Sept. 26 and also included the Turf Amazon S., the Parx Dirt Mile and the GII Gallant Bob S. "We will not be running any open stakes races this year," racing secretary David Osojnak said. "We will be going on hiatus. The...

Working in racing has always been a stressful occupation; a roller-coaster of emotions, triumphs and tragedies, long hours and travel. Add a global pandemic and unprecedented economic worry, with many participants fearing for their health, livelihoods and businesses, and the stress can become almost overwhelming. It's the sort of topic many people don't like to talk about, but we asked several industry participants to open about what particular GRAHAM MOTION  It is a stressful sport to be involved in, but at the end of the day, it's still a sport....

Last year, an ongoing bull run in the North American bloodstock market carried the juvenile sector to a historic breakthrough. For the first time, aggregate turnover broke the $200 million barrier. The momentum felt so giddy that the next milestone, with the mean cost of a 2-year-old standing at $95,807, promised to be a six-figure average. No market, of course, can sustain perennial growth. Capitalism requires recession to regenerate value. While these cycles will ideally be mild, this particular market is always especially exposed to any incipient weakness. Very often,...

Del Mar has cancelled its weekend racing--scheduled to run Friday through Sunday--because of multiple jockeys testing positive for COVID-19, as first reported in Daily Racing Form. In a subsequent press release Wednesday afternoon, Del Mar explained that all of the track's jockeys and jockey room personnel were tested on Tuesday by San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency staff, with 15 jockeys showing up positive for COVID-19. All were reportedly asymptomatic. "Assuming these individuals continue to show no symptoms, they will be isolated for a total of 10 days...

The planned return of autumn Thoroughbred racing on both dirt and turf at the Meadowlands will have to wait for another year. The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NJTHA) and track management at the Meadowlands have come to a mutual decision not to convert the facility's main dirt track from a Standardbred to a Thoroughbred setup for 19 already-allotted Friday and Saturday dates between Oct. 2 and Dec. 5. Under an agreement reached last year, dual-surface Thoroughbred racing was to be conducted at the Meadowlands for the first time since...

The New York Racing Association Inc., (NYRA) has announced updated health and safety protocols to address the rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases among jockeys around the country. Until further notice, Saratoga Race Course will be closed to out-of-town jockeys. In addition, any member of the regular NYRA jockey colony who travels to ride at any other racetrack will not be permitted to return to Saratoga Race Course. "These measures prioritize the health and safety of the jockeys competing in New York, and are designed to combat the spread of COVID-19,"...

Jockey Florent Geroux has joined a growing list of prominent jockeys who have tested positive for the coronavirus. Geroux was scheduled to ride Wednesday at Canterbury Park and had to take a test before he would be allowed to ride there. He took the test Monday and came up positive. "I don't really have any symptoms," Georux said. "I was a little bit tired Monday, but I had a long week last week. I didn't have any shortness of breath or anything like that." In less than a week, jockeys...

The Kentucky Derby Museum has canceled its 34th annual Gala, presented by Central Bank & Trust Co. With the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, this decision was made in the interest of public health and in the best interest of the community. Historically, the evening serves as the premier fundraising event for the Kentucky Derby Museum, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization. The rescheduled Gala was slated for Friday, Aug. 28. "The pandemic has created a very challenging business environment, especially for non-profit organizations like the Kentucky Derby Museum," said Patrick...