Victorian racing suspended , NSW takes action

Victorian racing has been brought to a halt for a minimum of two days with a Melbourne-based jockey undergoing a test for COVID-19, while Racing NSW has called off Thursday's meeting at Hawkesbury and abandoned Wednesday's Warwick Farm program as a precaution.

Racing Victoria abandoned Wednesday's Sandown meeting after just two races on medical advice, while meetings at Kilmore and Pakenham on Thursday are also called off.

"The participant has this afternoon been advised by health authorities that they were on the same flight as a confirmed case of COVID-19 when they travelled on 12 March 2020 prior to the introduction of strict COVID-19 protocols governing the conduct of racing in Victoria and the Federal Government’s announcements of 13 March 2020 restricting social gatherings," a statement from Racing Victoria said.

"The participant is not currently displaying any symptoms of COVID-19. Those people who have had close contact with the licensed participant are being contacted throughout this afternoon."

"In the event that the participant’s test is negative, RV will be seeking to resume racing. A further update will be provided on Thursday on the progress of the test and whether racing can resume. "

Racing NSW followed suit with the jockey having been in contact with jockeys in that state since that time.

It abandoned the final three races at Warwick Farm and also Thursday's meeting at Hawkesbury. Thursday's meeting at Narromine will go ahead at this stage.

"As the interstate participant travelled in a private charter flight with two other NSW participants and to minimise the risk of participants at today’s Warwick Farm meeting being exposed to COVID-19, the remainder of the Warwick Farm meeting has been cancelled. The interstate participant has been tested for COVID-19 and the results are expected later this week," a statement from Racing NSW said.

"Accordingly, Thursday’s Hawkesbury race meeting has been cancelled to minimise any risk to participants.

"In the event the interstate participant tests negative, Racing NSW will immediately resume racing subject to any Government restriction."

Wednesday meetings at Launceston in Tasmania and Ascot in WA were also abandoned while Thursday;s meeting at Pinjarra has been called off although racing continues at this stage elsewhere in the nation.

Inglis Easter Sale moves online

A federal government ban on auction houses has forced Inglis to modify its iconic Australian Easter Yearling Sale to be online only.

Inglis released a statement on Wednesday morning confirming that it would need to make the sale remote to comply with new guidance on public events during the current COVID-19 crisis.

"In light of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s most recent announcements and further restrictions made last night regarding the COVID-19 situation, Inglis is currently re-evaluating the timing and format of its sales schedule for the remainder of 2020," the statement said.

"The Easter Yearling Sale will not proceed as a live auction but will instead proceed in an online format."

Inglis said it would confirm the details around the sale as soon as possible as well as the dates and formats for its remaining sales of the season.

Training, agistment and stud farms can continue to operate in New Zealand

Horse training, agistment and stud farms are free to continue in New Zealand, with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing receiving advice that they are considered essential services.

New Zealand moves to COVID-19 alert level 4 at midnight on Wednesday, March 25, with only essential services permitted to operate, bringing an end to racing in the country.

Advice from the Ministry for Primary Industries confirms that training centres, training stables, agistment properties and stud farms where horses are in containment are considered essential services under animal welfare considerations.

Businesses with more than five people (including the owner) working at each business site, or who cannot achieve social distancing between staff, are required to register. The criteria and registration form can be found on the MPI website.

There are 11 questions to provide assurance that businesses have a plan and process to manage infection risks, with a full list of NZTR protocols available on its website.

The NZTR, the NZ Trainers’ Association and the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association have provided a template to assist with completing the paperwork.

Businesses which need to register, need to do so by 5pm NZDT this Friday, 27 March 2020 and will be able to continue operating while going through the registration process.

Baker and Forsman shut doors

One of New Zealand's biggest stables, that of Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, has decided to shut down.

Forsman told Racenet that they had made the hard decision to shut the doors temporarily.

“We had tried hard to make it work to keep a small team ticking over that could have been educated but with no racing happening it was hard to justify keeping racehorses in work,” Forsman told Racenet.

“We thought given how severe the restrictions are going to be, and how responsible we need to be in this next four weeks, that it wasn’t the right thing to do to keep training.

“Most (horses) have gone for a short freshen up. They were all at different stages of their preps but the racing ones were probably due a bit of a spell anyway.

“Some have gone to private barns and some will go to water treadmills or walkers to keep ticking over and perhaps in three or four weeks we will have a little bit more of an idea on what to do.”

Latest from Europe/UK, Ireland and South Africa

Courtesy TDN Europe

Irish racing suspended

All sporting events in Ireland have been suspended following an announcement from the Irish Government. Racing has been continuing to stage meetings behind closed doors since March 13, as countries around the world try to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

However, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced on Tuesday that all sporting events, even those without spectators, would be cancelled. Racing in Britain was suspended from last Wednesday, with no action anticipated before May 1 at the earliest.

Racing had been due to take place at Dundalk on Wednesday. The Board of Horse Racing Ireland will meet Wednesday morning and issue an update soon after.

County Tipperary trainer David Marnane said, “We’re all in this together and we’ll just have to do the best we can. It’s a devastating blow to us, but it is to everybody in the country. We’re not the only ones. We’ll have to knuckle down and get through this. We will get through this and come out the other side, however long it takes.”

Racing halted in South Africa

Horse racing in South Africa has been temporarily suspended from March 27 to April 16, after a presidential directive was issued on Monday. The upcoming suspension is part of a three-week coronavirus lockdown, as cases in that country hit 554 on Tuesday.

Training continues in UK

UK trainers are being advised to continue gallops exercise, and adhere strictly to social-distancing requirements, following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of new measures to combat the spread of coronavirus. The Prime Minister spelled out, in a broadcast address to the nation on Monday night, that the vast majority of the public must stay at home until further notice. The only exceptions are one permitted piece of outdoor exercise per day, essential shopping for provisions or for medical attention–while observing social-distancing.

A list of key workers who are exempt has, however, already been published–and indications are that stable staff fall into the bracket of those also still allowed to travel to their place of employment.

Latest from the USA

Courtesy TDN America

OBS reschedules juvenile sales

The Ocala Breeders’ Sale Company has rescheduled its 2020 Spring and June Sales of 2-Year-Olds in Training in response to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The Spring Sale, originally scheduled for April 21-24, will now be held June 9-12. The June Sale, which was slated for June 10-12 will now be held July 14-17.

The Spring Sale under tack show will be May 31-June 6 and the June under tack show will be July 6-11. The Spring Sale catalogue will stay as is and entries will be accepted from the June Sale through May 4.

“As we all continue to deal with the current circumstances,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “We need to balance a sense of social responsibility with providing our consignors the best opportunity to market their horses and give buyers the best place to obtain them.”

In an effort to provide another opportunity to buy and sell 2-year-olds, OBS is considering adding a 2-Year-Old in Training session to the October Yearling Sale, presently scheduled for October 6-9.

Churchill delays reopening

Churchill Downs Inc. will delay the reopening of its stable areas at both Churchill Downs Racetrack and the auxiliary training centre Trackside until Tuesday, April 14. The decision was made after ongoing consultation with public health officials amid public health concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Churchill Downs’ stable areas have been closed since December 31 for annual winter renovations and were originally scheduled to reopen Tuesday, March 17.

Charles Town suspended

Charles Town has suspended its live racing program following West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s statewide “stay at home” order which will shut down non-essential businesses as of 8pm PDT Tuesday. The track will remain open in the mornings for horsemen on the grounds to continue with light training.

As of Monday evening, West Virginia had 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases.