Fort Erie Racetrack will begin its 39-day race meeting on Tuesday June 2, one week later than originally scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The track gets started before Woodbine, which opens on Saturday, June 6, but horse population at Fort Erie is currently on the low side. The recent outbreak of the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) has meant some horses from Woodbine may not be able to ship to Fort Erie to race.
“We typically have one-third of our horses shipped from Woodbine,” said Fort Erie CEO Tom Valiquette to Niagara This Week (see link below). “There are no horses leaving and that’s our horse supply. There will be some smaller fields.”
As with all tracks opening or re-opening in North America, there will not any spectators allowed at the track for the races and all wagering must be done through HorsePlayer Interactive, www.hpibet.com.
Fort Erie’s famous race, the Prince of Wales Stakes, second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, is set for September 29, about two months later than usual.
Entries will be draw for the first card of racing on Friday May 29. You can find the condition books here. The track will race on Mondays and Tuesdays with a post time of 1:20 p.m.
The track has had recorded workouts for eight days but opened for training at the beginning of May.
Read more here.
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