Big Fields, Strict Protocols Greet Tracks Returning to Action

Horse racing will look much different when it returns to racetracks around the world in the coming days and weeks.

The exciting news that horse racing in Ontario can proceed to open, without spectators on site, presented by Premier Doug Ford on May 14, is a relief for the thousands of people involved in racing in the province. A long winter and then a delay in opening of tracks (Woodbine was scheduled to open April 18) has made it extremely difficult for owners, trainers and backstretch workers laid off to manage bills.

Woodbine will have its opening day June 6 barring any dramatic changes in COVID-19 cases in Ontario. The 2020 season will have lost 27 cards of racing from the meeting; however, those purses have been allocated back to horse owners.

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Woodbine’s most famous race, The Queen’s Plate, was originally scheduled for June 27 but reports now suggest the race will be held September 12.

There will be plenty of safety measures in place when Woodbine, and Woodbine Mohawk Standardbred track, Fort Erie, Ajax Downs and other Ontario tracks open, as well as Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, which is the first Canadian track to open (May 25).

Already, masks are mandatory at Woodbine and Fort Erie and will be worn on race days by horsepeople including jockeys.

Some of the big meetings in the U.S. are set to begin May 16 and 17th, including Churchill Downs and Santa Anita. Each racing card has lured large fields for its races.

Some of those two tracks have outlined the safety measures in place.

From Santa Anita, which had a ‘rehearsal’ with trainers and grooms last week for front side protocols, some of the measures include:

Jockeys, valets and essential personnel will be housed in trailers over racing weekends. They will have screening, temperature checks today and will actually live in a restricted area until the end of Sunday racing. All trainers, employees and essential racing personnel must wear face cloths covering their nose and mouth and practice social distancing while at Santa Anita. Trainers must saddle their horses in the receiving barn and will not be allowed in the walking ring. They will be assigned specific areas in the grandstand to watch the race depending on their horse’s number. Grooms will take their horses to the walking ring and jockeys will be given a leg up by a restricted valet just after the horses arrive in the walking ring.

Winning horses will not enter the winner’s circle but will instead stop at the finish line before exiting the track for a “winner’s circle photo” with the winning horse and jockey. For more, there is a lengthy list here.

Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson and Sue Leslie of the HBPA Ontario worked many hours in recent weeks to develop plans for the return of racing to Ontario. With Ontario Racing and the AGCO (which will issue safety protocols for racing) racing can proceed as long as measures are followed.

One of the main points made by Lawson last week in a teleconference with horsepeople was that he wants to keep the human population at a minimum, not just on the backstretch but on the front side when races are underway. That means that for now, owners are not permitted on site (along with fans, media, etc).

Tucci Stables, which races horses in Ontario and Florida in the winter, said in a tweet, “As an owner our thrill comes from watching our horses run. Sitting in a stadium and keeping our distance from others is safer than me shopping at a Fortinos.”

Darren Dunn, CEO at Assiniboia Downs said to Scott Taylor at chrisd.ca, “We’ve had to adjust,” Dunn said. “An unfortunate casualty has been the fact our owners can’t get on the grounds to watch their horses. They understand why but they still aren’t enjoying it and I’m sympathetic to that. With that in mind, we were the only track in North America to stream the workouts live on our website so they could see their horses work out. Still, they won’t be able to feed them carrots on the backstretch and I understand that issue.”

As noted in Churchill Downs’ safety measures, the danger of any type of congregation of people on the track apron is is a critical consideration. “Congregating on the apron in large groups will not be allowed. All facilities will remain closed to the general public. There will be no onsite wagering for racing to reduce the likelihood of congregation and to limit touchpoints on the grounds.”

For now, keeping people away from people and everyone wearing masks is noted by health officials to be the only way to keep the spread of the COVID-19 virus down at the current levels.

In Canada, as of May 14, more than 73,000 people tested positive for COVID-19, almost 50% have recovered but there have been 5,472 deaths.