Marquis Downs’ 51st racing season had a scheduled start date of May 29 but the Saskatoon track has yet to open its backstretch to horses and horsepeople due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus.
However, with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announcing last week that the province is underway in planning to restore the Saskatchewan economy and loosening restrictions on the public, horse racing could be one of the first outdoor events to get back into gear.
Marquis Downs has an additional issue in its opening as many of its jockeys are from Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago and currently travel bans would mean they would not be able to arrive in Canada. Riders coming into Canada would then have to quarantine for 14 days as noted in current measures.
Global News has a story and video on Marquis Downs here.
Leading Jockeys – Marquis Downs 2019
1 Neville Stephenson 151 31 30 23 $93,270 21%
2 Sheldon Rodrigo 116 24 11 21 $72,960 21%
3 Garfield Gordon 121 17 23 22 $69,813 14%
4 Nicholas Patrick 95 17 15 8 $53,949 18%
5 Shawn Samuel 81 15 12 8 $42,571 16%
Leading Trainers – Marquis Downs 2019
1 Ray Gardipy 85 — 19 9 14 $49,740 22%
2 Judy Hunter 76 — 15 14 16 $51,305 20%
3 Brandi-Rae McDonald 56 — 13 10 10 $38,048 23%
4 Dean Cameron 68 — 13 12 9 $37,043 19%
5 Floyd Buffalo 50 — 12 10 4 $31,468 20%
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