Parx plans to reopen on June 22

Parx racetrack in Bensalem, Penn., plans to reopen on June 22 provided the racing commission can bring back employees to provide regulatory personnel following a four-month shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of the track’s horsemen’s group said on Thursday afternoon.

Parx received approval for its reopening protocols on Wednesday night from the state’s Department of Health, according to Sal DeBunda, the president of the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, which represents horsemen at Parx. The track will race on a Monday-through-Wednesday schedule, spectator-free, provided the regulatory personnel are in place, DeBunda said.

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The state health department on Wednesday night also approved a reopening proposal from Penn National racetrack in Grantville, according to officials of that track. Penn National is expecting to reopen on June 19, on a two-day schedule for the first three weeks of the meet.

Thoroughbred racing in Pennsylvania has been shut down since mid-March due to COVID-19. Both Penn National and Parx were racing at the time the shut-down order was issued.

DeBunda said that horsemen at Parx elected to run three days a week at reduced purses rather than two days a week at purse levels similar to when the track shut down earlier this year. The track expects to distribute $180,000 a day during the reopening phase, rather than $270,000 a day, the average distribution in March, DeBunda said.

“We decided it would be better to give more people a shot at earning some money rather than fewer people earning more money,” DeBunda said.

The Monday-through-Wednesday schedule will also differ from the track’s schedule earlier this year, when the track ran on Saturdays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.

“We think we’ve got a better shot getting simulcast handle on Wednesdays than we do on Saturdays,” DeBunda said.

Tracks in Pennsylvania are heavily subsidized by casino revenues. The casino at Parx has also been shut down since March.

DeBunda said that there are approximately 1,100-1,200 horses on the backstretch at Parx. The horses have continued to train during the shutdown.

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem filling the races, at least for the first few weeks,” DeBunda said.