Sat, 05/16/2020 - 18:42

Delaware Park hoping to open meet on June 17

Delaware Park plans to submit a revised racing schedule to state regulators and government officials that would set June 17 as opening day for a 65-day meet, the track said on Saturday.

The revised racing schedule will need to be approved by the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission, and Delaware would need to get the go-ahead from the office of Gov. John Carney. Like all other states in the U.S., Delaware is attempting to put together plans to gradually allow some businesses to reopen during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Sat, 05/16/2020 - 18:13

This year's Preakness to be run on Oct. 3 at Pimlico

Barbara D. Livingston
Under the proposed plan, Pimlico would be deeded to the city of Baltimore, which would then lease the facility for racing.

The 2020 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore has been rescheduled to Oct. 3 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Larry Hogan, the governor of Maryland, who made the announcement during a Preakness-themed broadcast on Saturday afternoon, the day the race would have been held this year.

The announcement by Hogan was preceded by a short appearance by Belinda Stronach, the president of The Stronach Group, which owns Pimlico.

Sat, 05/16/2020 - 15:05

Belmont Park gets OK to reopen first week in June

Debra A. Roma
New York Racing Association officials are still hoping to open Belmont Park for racing later this month or in early June.

Belmont Park will reopen for live racing the first week of June after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday announced that horse racing statewide could begin June 1 under strict guidelines, which include no spectators.

Fri, 05/15/2020 - 15:35

Return to racing in New York remains in limbo

Debra A. Roma
New York Racing Association officials are still hoping to open Belmont Park for racing later this month or in early June.

As racing begins to open up on major circuits in Kentucky and California, New York racing is still stuck in limbo, two months and counting without live racing and with no clear-cut answer on when operations can resume.

The New York Racing Association is awaiting an answer from state officials on a plan it submitted last month to run racing at Belmont Park without spectators. Under the original plan, the hope was to begin racing next Friday. Now, it would appear a best-case scenario would be the last weekend of May or perhaps early June.

In reality, nobody knows.

Fri, 05/15/2020 - 14:00

Santa Anita alters procedures for grooms, saddling

Emily Shields
Track-employed grooms will walk horses to and from the racetrack when Santa Anita reopens.

Santa Anita has altered the procedure and personnel involved in guiding horses from the saddling area to the track, beginning with the resumption of racing Friday.

The procedure is similar to previous plans significantly limiting the number of people needed to attend to horses prior to races. The conditions were put in place because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Fri, 05/15/2020 - 13:20

Tampa applies for eight more dates that would carry it through July 1

Tom Keyser
The Tampa meet was originally scheduled to close on May 3.

Tampa Bay Downs has applied to extend its current meet an additional eight racing days, vice president of marketing and publicity Margo Flynn advised on Friday.

Fri, 05/15/2020 - 12:33

McGee : Gulfstream Park analysis for Sunday, May 17, 2020

McGee : Gulfstream Park analysis for Sunday, May 17, 2020

BEST BET: Voodoo Zip (4th race)

Fri, 05/15/2020 - 12:15

Churchill races will not be shown on the main TVG channel

Emily Shields
The Churchill races will be broadcast on FS1 and FS2, depending on programming, this Saturday and Sunday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs races will not be shown on the main TVG channel when its 26-day spring meet begins Saturday, track officials acknowledged Friday.

Fri, 05/15/2020 - 10:49

Keeneland in negotiations with Ellis Park to run a number of spectator-free July dates

Coady Photography
July racing at Keeneland would include the Blue Grass Stakes and Ashland, prep races for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky., is in discussions with Ellis Park in Henderson over an agreement that would allow Keeneland to run a number of live racing dates in July, according to Robert Elliston, the vice president of racing and sales at the track.

Elliston would not provide specific dates targeted by Keeneland, but he said that the dates would be run in July. Ellis Park has been awarded all of the live racing dates for that month, but Keeneland is hopeful that Ellis would agree to give up some dates in order to allow Keeneland to run.

Fri, 05/15/2020 - 09:40

Prairie Meadows to remain closed, despite government permission to open

Prairie Meadows will not open for live racing in the foreseeable future, despite state government approval to do so, the track said in a statement released late Thursday.

The decision to remain closed is a disappointment for some horsemen based in the Midwest who had been hopeful that the track would open its backstretch at a time when tracks in several surrounding states have begun making plans to restart racing.