{"id":131981,"date":"2020-04-02T19:48:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T02:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=131981"},"modified":"2020-04-03T07:49:13","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T14:49:13","slug":"kentucky-officials-unsure-when-live-horse-racing-can-resume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-officials-unsure-when-live-horse-racing-can-resume\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Unhappy Opening Day’ in Kentucky Makes Live Horse Racing Future Unsure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday was supposed to be the start of Keeneland\u2019s spring horse racing meet in Lexington, Ky., a holiday for some in this thoroughbred-crazy state. Instead, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) held a virtual meeting to discuss future racing dates, as the state, just like the rest of the country, comes to grips with the COVID-19 outbreak.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Keeneland’s spring meet is a major event every year in Kentucky. But the coronavirus pandemic forced the Lexington race track to cancel this year’s meet. (Image: Calstanhope\/Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA term I never thought I\u2019d have to say\u2026 Unhappy Opening Day,\u201d Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason told members of the commission\u2019s Race Dates Advisory Committee on the video conference call.<\/p>\n

Last month, Keeneland made the decision to cancel its three-week meet after federal officials issued strict social distancing guidelines that made hosting a live meet in front of thousands of fans an impossible task.<\/p>\n

After hearing from the state\u2019s thoroughbred and harness racing tracks about their current status, KHRC Board Chair Frank Kling Jr. said he was hopeful racing could resume as soon as possible. However, the commission could not tell the tracks when they could possibly resume live racing.<\/p>\n

Not knowing that timeline will challenge our ability to have resources in place and horses ready to return to racing when government officials give us the thumbs up,\u201d Kling said. \u201cHowever, we are all in this together, and together we will best shape our future by being flexible and responsive to the changing situation. All stakeholders working in the same direction with the same goals as always will best serve the industry.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Live racing in Kentucky stopped last week when Turfway Park shelved the final three days of its winter meet. That came after Gov. Andy Beshear issued a stay home order that closed all non-essential businesses in the state. As it has elsewhere, simulcasting centers have been closed by COVID-19. But bettors can use mobile apps and websites to watch races and place bets.<\/p>\n

Seven US Tracks Still Racing<\/h2>\n

While racing has stopped in Kentucky, it continues at a select number of tracks across the country, even in some states that have issued stay-home orders for non-essential business and travel.<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s stay-home order is set to take effect Friday morning. But representatives from Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park have indicated their tracks will continue racing.<\/p>\n

In California, the Los Angeles County Health Department shut down Santa Anita<\/a> a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s issued his stay-home order. On Wednesday, Sacramento County officials shut down Cal Expo\u2019s harness racing meet, and on Thursday, the Alameda County Public Health Officer requested Golden Gate Fields stop live racing.<\/p>\n

However, Los Alamitos in Orange County is still scheduled to run quarter horse races this weekend.<\/p>\n

According to Equibase<\/em>, racing is also taking place at Will Rogers Downs and Remington Park in Oklahoma, Oaklawn Racing and Gaming in Arkansas, and Fonner Park in Nebraska.<\/p>\n

At all tracks where racing continues, no fans are allowed on the premises in an attempt to keep the coronavirus from spreading.<\/p>\n

Churchill Would Race Without Fans<\/h2>\n

The spring meet at Churchill Downs is scheduled to start on April 25. However, since track officials have delayed when horses may arrive at the Louisville venue until April 14 \u2013 and even that date may get pushed back \u2013 it\u2019s highly likely Churchill Downs’ meet will not start on time. That’s especially since the Kentucky Derby<\/a> and other events that take place during the meet\u2019s first week have been pushed back to September.<\/p>\n

Still, Kevin Flanery, track president for Churchill Downs, told the commission there\u2019s interest in running races even without fans under the famed Twin Spires.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be prepared,\u201d <\/strong>Flanery told the commission members. \u201cBecause this is such a fluid situation, if we are asked to run spectatorless, then we will be prepared to do that. Obviously, we have a lot of things to work on, but we have the experience at Turfway Park. We will be taking that guidance, and whatever scenario is put forward to us, we\u2019re trying to work through those and be ready to run at the right time.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thursday was supposed to be the start of Keeneland\u2019s spring horse racing meet in Lexington, Ky., a holiday for some in this thoroughbred-crazy state. Instead, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) held a virtual meeting to discuss future racing dates, as the state, just like the rest of the country, comes to grips with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":131982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14577],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKentucky Officials Unsure When Live Horse Racing Can Resume<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The COVID-19 outbreak has forced one Kentucky horse racing track to cancel its spring meet and caused Churchill Downs to reschedule the Kentucky Derby.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kentucky Officials Unsure When Live Horse Racing Can Resume\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The COVID-19 outbreak has forced one Kentucky horse racing track to cancel its spring meet and caused Churchill Downs to reschedule the Kentucky Derby.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kentucky-officials-unsure-when-live-horse-racing-can-resume\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-03T02:48:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-03T14:49:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1280px-Keeneland_gate.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"767\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" 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