Woodbine Mohawk Park: Track hoping to resume live racing on June 5

According to Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson, track officials are hoping for a return to live racing at Mohawk Park on Friday, June 5, with a back-up date of June 12 should they meet any obstacles in the return from the COVID-19 shutdown.

Racing would be conducted without spectators, and while Lawson mentioned the possibility of having limited fans at the track at some point during the summer, the track is not expecting that outcome.

“We are not looking at a real resumption (with fans) until sometime during the fall,” said Lawson.

Under the current plan, Mohawk would open on May 27 for training and allow up to 50 horses to use the track. The availability would be by appointment only through an online sign-up starting May 22. Training sessions would be on Wednesdays and Sundays. Qualifiers would be scheduled in the days leading up to the opening card, but a final decision on whether horses will be forced to qualify before racing has not been reached.

As for the C$1 million North America Cup, which was originally scheduled for June 20, that race is now expected to be contested in late August. “We are working through the final details and that should be a available in the next week or so,” said Lawson.