Robin Goodfellow’s Racing Tips: Best bets for Tuesday, March 23
Sportsmail's racing expert Robin Goodfellow dishes out his tips for Tuesday's meetings at Huntingdon, Wetherby and Taunton.
Month: March 2021
Owners set to return to racecourses from March 29 in England and Scotland
Owners are poised to return to English and Scottish racecourses from March 29 as racing tiptoes back to normality. Two owners per horse are set to be allowed back from next week.
‘This Is About To Become A Crisis’: COVID Restrictions May Affect Woodbine’s Opening Day
Opening day at Woodbine Racecourse is scheduled for April 17, 2021. However, the Thoroughbred Daily News reports that the Ontario track is currently designated a coronavirus “Grey Zone,” where racing is among the activities that is not allowed. This is the same restriction that forced the track to close two weeks early at the end of 2020.
“I am very concerned and this is about to become a crisis for us,” Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson told the TDN. “It's a crisis because soon there will be 2,000 people back there looking after these horses. If these people lose their jobs, there's nothing else that they can do. Especially after I had heard from trainers that may not come back, I am trying to impress upon people that we are on the cusp of a very big problem that could do irreparable damage to us as a business. We will need some answers very soon as to whether or not we can make an Apr. 17 opener.”
The Woodbine backstretch is open and horses are able to train; it is the afternoon racing which is currently restricted by the provincial government.
“We have made the argument all along that this is an outdoor activity and we wouldn't be allowing spectators,” Lawson said. “Our risk profile in the afternoon is the same as our risk profile in the morning. We should be able to run.”
Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.
The post ‘This Is About To Become A Crisis’: COVID Restrictions May Affect Woodbine’s Opening Day appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Idaho Senate Passes Bill To Fund State Racing Commission, But Passing House May Be More Difficult
The Idaho Senate passed a bill on Wednesday last week which redistributes wagering revenue in the state, a measure necessary to correct a budget deficit of approximately $141,000 in the Idaho State Racing Commission, according to the Idaho State Journal.
Horse racing in the Idaho is funded by wagering revenue, which is split between the commission, racetracks, breeders and public schools. The East Idaho Horsemen's Association (EIHA) drafted multiple revisions of a revenue redistribution bill, but Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa — chairman of the State House Affairs Committee — refused to have the bill heard.
Instead, Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-Inkom, sponsored the bill in the Senate, where it passed. Now, the bill will head back to the house, but Crane remains against it.
“At some point, the horsemen have got to realize that they are in an industry that is dying — live horse racing in the state of Idaho is dying,” Crane told the Idaho State Journal. “I'm not responsible for that, no one in the Legislature is responsible for that. If they can't put people in the stands that want to come watch their races, that is their problem, not my problem.”
Mark Hanson, Vice President of the EIHA, explained that putting people in the stands isn't the problem. The issue stems from current distribution methods of advanced deposit wagering dollars.
“We still had 15 race days that occurred in 2020 and of those, multiple were conducted spectator-free because of COVID-19 protocols,” Hanson said. “So no, we are not asking Crane to put people in the stands at races. We're asking to capitalize on revenue gleaned from other, more modern methods of wagering on horse racing in the state of Idaho.”
Read more at the Idaho State Journal.
The post Idaho Senate Passes Bill To Fund State Racing Commission, But Passing House May Be More Difficult appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
