Celebrations may be delayed

Planning for the 100th G1 Cox Plate at The Valley is on the backburner until the Moonee Valley Racing Club can digest what the the full effects of the coronavirus pandemic may be.

MVRC Chief Executive Michael Browell told RSN927 that he would prefer to wait 12 months and hold the 100th running of the weight-for-age feature if this year's race was to be run without a crowd on course.

"One of the options we may have to consider is putting a line through the Cox Plate this year if everything isn't back in normal working conditions and then postpone it until October, 2021," Browell said.

"This is my personal view. My least preferred model would be running the Cox Plate with no-one on course.

"It's the 100th year. We've got a massive celebration planned, flying people in from around the world for this, but I'm not going to pre-empt what the decision might be.

"We've got a little bit of time up our sleeve, but we want the 100th running of the Cox Plate to be a massive celebration with all the past champions to celebrate it with us.

"Ideally the world gets back to normal and we can run it this year."

Browell said June 1 was a critical date and said if racing ceased because of COVID-19 and training also halted, he doubted there would be enough time for racing to be up and going again in time for the Cox Plate on October 24.

"If we find that training closes down, horses have to be sent to agistment and then starting from scratch. It could take anywhere between eight and 10 weeks before you've got horses back racing over short course distances."

Browell also said because of the coronavirus pandemic the club had been forced to close its gaming and hospitality businesses leaving zero revenue.

Field sizes cut

Racing Victoria will limit field sizes from April 3 to reduce the number of essential on-course staff and better manage social distancing.

Metropolitan fields will be limited to 14 and country fields to 12, field sizes may be increased at the discretion of RV for black type and feature races while the maximum number of races will be capped at nine.

“Whilst racing and training is currently permitted to continue in Victoria under strict biosecurity protocols, we cannot rest on our laurels,” Racing Victoria Chief Executive Giles Thompson, said.

“That is why we are continually reviewing our protocols in consultation with the industry stakeholder groups and learning from our collective experiences every day.

“We have continued to challenge ourselves on the number of people that should be attending race meetings and have elected to make further changes to our protocols as a result.

“The introduction of maximum field limits of 14 starters at metropolitan tracks and 12 at country tracks seeks to further reduce the number of required race day attendees and assists in ensuring appropriate social distancing occurs.

“In determining the differing field limits between metropolitan and country tracks consideration was given to size, infrastructure and average field sizes.”

Penalty free call

There is an air of uncertainty as to when racing will return to New Zealand tracks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, leading South Island trainer Michael Pitman has a clear picture of what it should look like upon its return.

“We might have to race for a bag of peanuts, but we would have to have open entry penalty-free racing just to get racing back on the agenda. That’s the main thing,” Pitman said.

“We could be racing over 800 metres and 1000 metres for NZ$2000, but it needs to be penalty-free.”

Pitman, who trains more than 60 horses in partnership with his son Matthew, admits that he is a little bit frustrated watching racing continue in Australia during New Zealand’s Level 4 lockdown, but he hopes these measures will help quicken the return to racing.

“If they are out for a month it should only take about six weeks for horses to be fit enough to be competitive. In a perfect world I can see racing returning around July,” he said.

Along with penalty-free racing, Pitman also believes the industry should focus on isolating racing to three major hubs in order to fast-track the return of racing.

“We could have measures in place where races were undertaken at Matamata for Waikato-trained horses, Awapuni for Central Districts horses, and Riccarton for horses down here,” Pitman said.

Pitman has turned out his 60-strong team and said he is lucky that he has his Yaldhurst property as well as his stables at Riccarton Park in these times.

“Fortunately we run two stables and we are running them independent from each other,” he said.

“I have still got the ability to work horses at home, but because of what has happened we have given all of our horses two weeks off and then we are looking to start lightly working them again in the hope that racing does kick-off around July.”

Pitman said it’s the toughest time the racing industry has faced in his time training, but he is looking to Australia’s recovery from Equine Influenza as a beacon of hope.

“I have 60-odd horses on the books, a dozen staff and 150 owners. It’s the biggest challenge I have faced in my time in training. But you look across the Tasman, and EI (Equine Influenza) affected horses more than people and yet they came back after a four or five month break and look how strong Sydney and Melbourne racing is now.”

Derby to be rescheduled

The Singapore Turf Club will be rescheduling the Singapore Derby, which was to be held on April 18 at Kranji, to a future date to be determined later.

The Club will only be holding one local race meeting per week in April, on Fridays - April 3, April 10, April 17 and April 24. Members of the public will not be admitted and there will not be any screening of overseas simulcast races on track.

The measures are expected to be in place until April 30, in line with the Singapore Ministry of Health’s (MOH) advisory on tighter measures to minimise further spread of COVID-19, dated March 24.

Latest from the UK

Breeze-up worries

Courtesy of TDN Europe

The big question to which everyone in the industry would like to know the answer is when will racing be able to resume? It is a key concern for many, not least the breeze-up consignors, whose sales season in Europe should have started this week at Ascot.

The Tattersalls Ascot and Craven Breeze-up Sales have already been postponed until the end of April, while Arqana has pencilled in an early June slot for its Deauville sale currently scheduled to be held on May 8 and 9.

On Wednesday, Goffs UK announced that its mid-April Breeze-up Sale will now be delayed until June, just prior to the start of Royal Ascot, and could be transferred from Doncaster to a London venue.

While breeze-up consignors will doubtless be supportive of moves which allow the sales to take place once coronavirus restrictions have been eased for the majority of the population, the rescheduling brings with it headaches of a different kind.

“There’s no point having a sale unless there’s racing on,” said Roger Marley, who is based in Yorkshire and sells in partnership with Irishman John Cullinan under the Church Farm & Horse Park Stud banner.

“Things won’t be back to normal for a while, but there has to be some kind of normality to it all. I’m not a big fan of the idea of an online breeze. Horses still have to be in the same place anyway, they have to breeze on the same gallop. You can’t have them breezing at home on different gallops and being timed.”

With horses being prepared to breeze at Doncaster on April 22 now facing a two-month lag in sale date, their training schedules will have to be modified accordingly.

“We’ve taken our foot off the gas with these horses now,” Marley said. “We did that a fortnight ago. The horses that were going to the Craven on the original date, or to Goffs UK on the original date, they haven’t done any fast work for a fortnight since they announced the delay to the Craven and that there would be no racing at all.

“My horses usually go in to [nearby training centre] Malton for a change of scenery twice before they go to the sales but we’ve not done that yet and I’m not willing to do that until we know for certain what is going to happen. They are doing steady canters most days, nothing more than that.”

He continues, “It’s worrying for everyone, the uncertainty of not knowing when anything is going to go ahead. Doncaster [Goffs UK] is now 10 weeks away and I know they mentioned they might be having it at Kempton, but that’s a minor detail for someone to worry about later on.

“If the racing and sales go ahead in May none of us would be worried. The delay of a month we can all take, but if we’re getting into a delay of three months then people are going to hit difficulties.”

The outcome of the 2-year-old sales will also have repercussions for the trade for yearlings this autumn, just as a heavily revised sales calendar will cause problems for the many consignors who are active as vendors across the breeze-up, store and yearling sectors.

“The sales companies know that these sales have to go ahead because if they don’t there will be a lot of people not able to go back to restock at the yearling sales in the autumn,” Marley said.

UK response plan

A COVID-19 response plan for the UK racing industry was published on Monday by the industry group coordinating the response and liaising with the UK government.

The purpose of the operational plan is to protect the health of British racing’s people, horses, and businesses during the pandemic and have a blueprint in place for the earliest possible resumption of racing and a strong recovery once racing has begun again. It also outlines the range of activities, led by the industry’s COVID-19 Group, to meet the challenges presented by the pandemic.

It sets out objectives for five key streams of work, including finance, people, equine health and welfare, resumption and recovery. The plan will structure and drive the work going forward and be used as a template for reporting back to senior leaders, the industry and external stakeholders where required.

It has been developed by the Industry Group (IG) and approved by the Members’ Committee of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) representing racing’s tripartite leadership of the Racecourse Association (RCA), The Horsemen’s Group (THG) and the governing body and regulator, the BHA.

The industry group includes the Chief Executives of the BHA, RCA, National Trainers Federation (NTF), Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) and Thoroughbred Breeders Association (TBA), and has direct input from the chief executives of other industry organisations such as the Horserace Betting Levy Board, Racing Foundation and Racing Welfare.

“The Industry Group is working hard to meet the needs of the racing industry in this period of great uncertainty,” said a spokesman from the COVID-19 Group. “There has already been a huge collaborative effort and this will continue as we move to a point at which we can resume racing.

“We are publishing the plan so that the industry’s stakeholders and participants can see the extensive program of work that is underway. We believe this will help avoid duplication and use resources in the best possible way. We will continue to give updates at regular intervals.”

In addition to the latest plan information, a financial submission to the UK government, developed with input from the group, is being sent to the Department of Digital, Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS). In the submission, a wide range of ways in which racing can work with government to reduce the economic impact to the industry is detailed, including further financial support.

“The Industry Group is working hard to meet the needs of the racing industry in this period of great uncertainty. There has already been a huge collaborative effort and this will continue as we move to a point at which we can resume racing.

Latest from the USA

Courtesy of TDN America

Fasig Tipton cancel Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale

Owing to the current restrictions in place at Santa Anita Park, relating to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and in light of the changes to the 2020 Thoroughbred auction calendar, officials at Fasig-Tipton have announced the cancellation of the Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale. The event had been scheduled for June 3.

“Factors beyond our control have necessitated the sale’s cancellation,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said. “We greatly appreciate the support we received from those that had already committed entries, as well as the efforts and cooperation of Santa Anita’s management and staff these past several months.

“With so much uncertainty, we felt it was best to go ahead and announce the sale’s cancellation to provide sellers with ample time to redirect their horses to other venues.

“While disappointed with this outcome, we look forward to continuing to work with California breeders and sellers on the California Fall Yearlings Sale scheduled for October 19 of this year at Fairplex in Pomona, California.”

The Keeneland 2-Year-Olds In Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale, originally scheduled for April 7, was cancelled on March 16. The following day, Fasig-Tipton announced the postponement of its Midlantic 2YO Sale by one week from May 18 and 19 to May 26 and 27 in Timonium.

It simultaneously announced a second Midlantic sale to take place on June 24 and 25. While the OBS March Sale went on despite the pandemic, the company decided to postpone its April sale. That auction will now take place June 9-12.