This past week, when the company announced Turfway Park would run fan-free for the rest of its meet, it also announced that plans for the May 2 race were \u201cstill moving forward.\u201d However, it also noted that the historic race could be moved as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, although a decision would not be made until closer to the race.<\/p>\n
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On Saturday, hours before Baffert\u2019s remarks, the company made another announcement that said company representatives have been working closely with health experts to make \u201cthe most responsible decision\u201d regarding an event that draws upwards of 150,000 people annually. And that doesn\u2019t include similar-sized crowds for the Kentucky Oaks, held at the track on the Friday before Derby, and other festivities held in Louisville in the weeks prior to celebrate the city\u2019s signature sporting event.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThis is not a decision we take lightly and we expect to have an update about the Kentucky Derby and additional information on our upcoming Spring Meet in the coming week,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n
Other Sporting Leagues, Events in Limbo<\/h2>\n
Baffert\u2019s comments come as other sporting leagues and events in the US have been halted as the nation tries to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The NCAA announced it would not only cancel its upcoming college basketball tournaments and other postseason events for winter sports, but also cancel all spring sporting activities as well.<\/p>\n
US professional sporting leagues, including the NBA, NHL, and MLS, have suspended their seasons indefinitely. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver saying his league\u2019s shutdown will last at least 30 days. Baseball suspended spring training and the MLB season, set to start later this month, will assuredly be delayed and possibly shortened.<\/p>\n
The Masters<\/a>, the first major of the PGA Tour, was slated to start April 9, but officials at Augusta National announced Friday it will be postponed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Legendary horse trainer Bob Baffert has made many headlines regarding his sport’s signature race in the past. He did so again on Saturday, but his remarks had nothing to do with his two horses that ran during the day. Rather, he shed light on how the COVID-19 pandemic might impact the 146th running of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":129909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14577,16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Baffert: Ky Derby May Run in June or Sept Due to COVID-19 Concerns<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n