Colonial Downs in Virginia has been shut down mid-meet by the novel coronavirus.
A jockey tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, forcing the cancellation of Tuesday and Wednesday cards, and on Friday, following several more positive COVID-19 tests in jockeys and staff, the track called a halt to the remainder of its racing season. Including the two days this week, Colonial lost the last 11 days of an 18-day 2020 racing season.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jockeys who intend to ride in the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville will be required to be on the grounds by Aug. 31, according to a document distributed by Churchill.
Mel Stute, the eminently popular trainer of Preakness winner Snow Chief and Breeders’ Cup winners Brave Raj and Very Subtle, died Wednesday morning in Del Mar, Calif., his son, trainer Gary Stute said.
Stute turned 93 last Saturday. He shattered a knee earlier this summer and was residing at the summer home Gary Stute rented for the Del Mar meeting.
“We couldn’t put him in the hospital because of COVID,” Gary Stute said. “That would have been signing him up to die.”
Top jockeys and their agents often face difficult decisions when two horses the jockey has been riding end up pointing to the same race, which takes on added significance when it’s a race with the profile of the Kentucky Derby.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Churchill Downs has placed new restrictions on attendance for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby as coronavirus positives surge in the state, limiting total attendance to approximately 24,000 people and closing the infield, the company announced on Wednesday.
Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Costas will be the featured speakers at this year’s virtual Jockey Club Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on Sunday morning, the Jockey Club announced on Monday.
The dominating victories last weekend by Tiz the Law and Art Collector further strengthened their position at the top of the list of candidates for the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, and several of those left in their wake are now seeking other options. They’ve seen enough. Combined with the attrition rate for this Derby owing to its postponement by four months, there is the very real possibility fewer than the maximum 20 horses could enter the Derby, which has not happened since 2003.
The horse racing authorities in Saudi Arabia have decided to distribute purse payments to the horses that finished second through 10th in this year’s $20 million Saudi Cup, The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia announced on Monday, but will continue to withhold payment to the winner, perhaps for many more months.
