Charles Town resumes racing, but will reschedule Charles Town Classic

Charles Town Races in West Virginia has decided to resume racing but will ban spectators indefinitely while postponing the track’s richest race to an undetermined date, the racetrack said on Thursday.

Charles Town abruptly canceled its Wednesday card after the state’s governor, Jim Justice, ordered all bars, restaurants, and casinos to close due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, the track said on Thursday that it would resume racing on Friday, but that the track would “be closed entirely to the general public until further notice.”

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

“The grandstand will be closed for all simulcast and live wagering and not available to anyone other than essential track and West Virginia Racing Commission personnel needed to conduct the live program,” the track said.

Charles Town is also the site of a casino, and that facility has already been closed as a result of the governor’s order. The casino provides subsidies to the track’s purses, and the track and the horsemen have reached an agreement to cancel four days of live racing due to the expected “diminution of purse money.” The dates canceled are March 25, April 1, April 8, April 15, and May 10, the track said. The first four are Wednesday cards, and the last is a Sunday card.

The track’s richest race, the $1 million Charles Town Classic, was scheduled for April 18, but the race has been postponed to a date later this year “that has not yet been determined,” the track said. All five of the open stakes on the April 18 card have also been postponed, according to the track, but the four restricted West Virginia-bred stakes races will go ahead as planned.

Racetracks along the East Coast have begun implementing shipping bans due to the coronavirus outbreak, potentially limiting the ability of many out-of-state horses to run in the open races.