New to the seating arrangements in 2021 will be an all-inclusive ticket plan, with food and beverages included, which is intended to reduce patrons' need to spend time in lines, the letter said.

The 2021 Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday, May 1.

Read more at wkyt.com.

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The conference, organized by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), normally takes place in person in Paris the day after the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. This year's conference program focuses on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the international racing world. In this digital panel, broadcast media members were asked about the way their outlets have adapted to a socially distanced racetrack.

A few takeaways from the panel of media experts:

• In Britain, viewership that would normally spike for main events and decrease for more pedestrian race days in between has remained more consistent throughout the past months, according to ITV's Francesca Cumani. It's hard to tell what this may mean, but Cumani hopes it's a sign fans are becoming more engaged with racing as they've had more time to devote to watching a horse prepare for a classic run.
• In Japan, Japan Racing Association's Shigeru Suzuki said the country has seen a drastic increase in new account sign-ups for online wagering platforms. The number of registrants increased by 250,000 compared to pre-pandemic numbers, bringing the total to 4.7 million users. Suzuki also said the Green Channel, normally a pay-per-view way to watch the races at home, has been made available free of charge (though the online app is still paid). Total turnover in Japan year over year is similar to 2019 despite the lack of fan access during COVID-19.

• Rob Hyland of NBC Sports said that although the disappearance of fans from the racetracks took away some of the magic from big races like the Kentucky Derby, the channel did its best to expand its use of technology to bring the fan experience to viewers at home. Capturing ambient sound became a bigger priority, now that conversations between riders and the sounds of horses galloping could be heard without background noise. More jockeys at this year's major races were wearing microphones and cameras. These extra points of access enabled remote analysis from anchors who were covering the race from out of state. The restrictions on media attendance also forced NBC to be more efficient — NBC's crew is normally over 300 for the Kentucky Derby, while this year it was less than 100.
• In some ways, the silence at racetracks enhances the experience — Jason Richardson of Channel 7 and Racing.com recalled a moment when a jockey got a first Group 1 victory at Royal Randwick. Because there were no crowds shouting at the wire, Richardson was able to hear a group of jockeys behind the winner cheer for their colleague as the race finished.
• In Australia, Channel 7 has brought the experience of celebrating owners to its viewers by asking ownership groups to film themselves watching the races or providing recordings of Zoom parties they use to virtually gather and watch races. Their energy doesn't translate exactly the same way, but still elevates the production, according to Richardson.
• Cumani said that as racing has returned in Britain, broadcasters have had to be mindful of public perception when sending out images from the track. As happy as racing media were to be back, they had to be sensitive to the fact that daily life in the country remained disrupted.

  “In England I think there's a big danger that racing is is seen as an elitist endeavor, and why should racing continue when other things can't?” she said.

  Katherine Ford of Equidia and Sky Sports Racing echoed those sentiments from her viewpoint in France, agreeing that camera operators had to be careful not to inadvertently film someone who had pulled down their mask temporarily for a cigarette or a drink, lest viewers think racing personnel or racegoers were not masking properly. Hyland agreed, citing camera framing choices on Kentucky Oaks Day for some presenters whose backdrops were chosen so that the physical distancing between themselves and others would be clear to viewers.

• Hyland recalled preparing for this year's Kentucky Derby weekend, when he tried to have more racing participants than usual wearing microphones for ambient sound. Trainer Bob Baffert, who Hyland characterizes as a bit superstitious, declined to wear one on Oaks Day since he felt confident about his chances with Gamine, worrying it would jinx him. He did agree to wear one for the Derby, where he felt less confident in his contenders. Of course, that meant NBC ended up with audio of his emotional reaction during Authentic's run.

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From the minute Churchill Downs officials announced in mid-March that the Kentucky Derby would be postponed until Sept. 5 because of the coronavirus pandemic, we knew this year was going to be different. I don't think any of us knew how different.

Kicking off with a distance-shortened Belmont Stakes June 20 and ending with a Preakness on Oct. 3 that may be remembered as one of the most exciting renewals in recent history, the Triple Crown had its share of highs … and lows. We may have learned a few things – some takeaways – from this year as well.

Watch this week's Friday Show below and let us know what your favorite memories were from the 2020 Triple Crown.

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Normally run on the third Saturday in May, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, this year's Preakness – like all three Triple Crown races – was run without spectators on site, meaning on-track wagering was minimal. The Preakness encountered not only increased competition from the sports world – it was up against six televised NCAA football games including Texas A&M at Alabama, Oklahoma State at Kansas and Ole Miss at Kentucky – but both Belmont Park and Keeneland offered a full slate of late afternoon graded stakes races serving as major preps for the Nov. 6-7 Breeders' Cup world championships.

For the day, according to Equibase, wagering on Pimlico's 12-race card was $51,242,631, a decline of 48.7% from the record $99,852,653 bet on the 14-race Preakness Day card in 2019. The Preakness race itself handled $31.7 million, down 49.5% from 2019 when $62.8 million was wagered on the classic race for 3-year-olds.

The wagering declines were similar to those experienced by Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day Sept. 5 and on the Derby itself, when handle dropped by 49.8% and 52.0%, respectively. Derby Day wagering fell from a record $250.9 million to $126.0 million and the Derby itself handled $79.4 million compared to $165.5 million in 2019.

The Belmont Stakes, which on June 20 kicked off a Triple Crown reshuffled because of the coronavirus pandemic, saw smaller wagering declines compared to 2019. The $67.8 million bet on this year's Belmont Stakes card was down 33.7% from $102.1 million in 2019 and the Belmont Stakes saw a 35.9% decline from $53.2 million to $34.1 million.

Combined, wagering on the three Triple Crown cards fell by more than $200 million, from $453 million in 2019 to $245 million this year, a decline of 45.9%.

Just as many other major league sports have struggled to maintain television viewership, so too have horse racing's marquee events. The combined viewing audience for the NBC Sports telecasts of the three Triple Crown races fell by 47.3%  from 26.6 million in 2019 to 14 million in 2020. The Belmont's 2.0 rating was the lowest in 24 years and the 4.8 rating for the Derby – traditionally the highest-rated racing telecast of the year – sank to a 32-year low. The Preakness rating of 1.4 represented a viewing audience of 2.4 million compared to 5.4 million in 2019.

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The 2020 Triple Crown was different, that's for sure.

A Belmont Stakes that began the series, not at its traditional mile and a half but at a truncated nine furlongs around one turn.

A Kentucky Derby run in eerie silence on the first Saturday in September in a city on edge for months because of growing racial tensions.

A lost in the shuffle Preakness Stakes that brought the series to an end in early October on a day when tracks in New York and Kentucky were showcasing horses gearing up for the autumn Breeders' Cup world championships.

It was unprecedented. It was beautiful. It was 2020 personified.

The stars of this Triple Crown in the year of the coronavirus pandemic were, as always, those magnificent Thoroughbreds.

The  New York-bred Tiz the Law demonstrating his dominance at Belmont Park for octogenarian Barclay Tagg and the everyman Sackatoga Stable partners, proving that age is just a number when it comes to training a racehorse.

The Derby showed us, once again, why they run the race.

While Tiz the Law looked unbeatable on paper, having gone on after the Belmont to win the Travers Stakes over the same mile and a quarter distance, he hadn't yet taken on the aces from the Bob Baffert Travel Team. Sure, Nadal was retired, Charlatan had been sidelined with an injury and Eight Rings, Cezanne and Uncle Chuck just weren't up to to the task at this stage of their careers, but the white-haired wonder still had the once-beaten Into Mischief colt Authentic and the insurgent Thousand Words in his arsenal. Well, scratch the latter…literally…just minutes before the Derby after acting up in the saddling paddock.

Authentic proved just that, denying Tiz the Law in the Run for the Roses and looking like a cinch to repeat in the Preakness a month later – especially after the Belmont winner's connections decided to sit this one out. A cinch, at least until forgotten rider Robby Albarado seized the moment to resurrect his career, boldly sending the gallant filly Swiss Skydiver to take on Authentic for a throwdown in the final three-eighths of a mile the likes of which we haven't seen at Old Hilltop since Sunday Silence and Easy Goer were hip to hip in that glorious Preakness of 1989. Or maybe since Albarado, aboard Curlin, engaged and defeated Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense in another memorable running of the Preakness in 2007.

Trainer Kenny McPeek calls this Daredevil filly – one he bought for just $35,000 on day nine of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale – a throwback. Sure nuff, she is. Her past performances read like the announcements echoing through a train station: Tampa, New Orleans, Miami, Hot Springs, Arcadia, Lexington, Saratoga Springs, Louisville, Baltimore.

All aboard.

This was David beating Goliath, Main Street outperforming Wall Street. It wasn't just a filly against colts, it was a victory for the little guys against the conglomerates. Likewise, Belmont winner Tiz the Law came from an ownership group that won all of four races last year from a five-horse stable.

But this game isn't about numbers, at least not for everyone. It's about dreams. Seemingly impossible dreams. And when they come true, as Don Quixote said, the world will be better for this.

That's my view from the eighth pole.

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Authentic, the favorite in Saturday's 145^th running of the Preakness, was joined by the 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver, Blue Grass (G2) winner Art Collector, Haskell (G1) runner-up Ny Traffic, Mr. Big News, third in the Kentucky Derby, and Thousand Words, a late scratch from the Derby.

Trainer Bob Baffert, trainer of Authentic and Thousand Words, joined his horses on the flight to Baltimore and the van to Pimlico.

Authentic and Art Collector are expected to head to the track at approximately 8:30 Wednesday morning.

Swiss Skydiver will attempt to become only the sixth filly to win the Preakness, the first since Rachel Alexandra in 2009.

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In the aftermath of the race came the stunning and terrible realization that Churchill Downs could have been filled to capacity and still not held all those who have died in the United States from the virus. From a well of sadness a simple idea emerged – to show what was lost while honoring the spirit of America's greatest horse race.

With this video, writer John Scheinman and photojournalists Alex Evers, John Voorhees and Scott Serio teamed up to juxtapose the Kentucky Derby normally bursting with life and the stark emptiness of this year's race.

It is part lament for what has been lost, part deeply felt reflection and also a token of remembrance for future fans to look back on how, this year, everything changed – the year the Kentucky Derby was not run on the traditional first Saturday in May, but, rather, the first Saturday in September.

Watch the video below:

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Also working at Churchill Downs on Saturday morning were G2 Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector, clocked one-fifth of a second slower than Authentic in :59.40 under Brian Hernandez Jr., and G1 Alabama Stakes winner Swiss Skydiver, who went a half-mile in :48.00 with jockey Tyler Gaffalione in the saddle.

Thousand Words was scratched from the Derby after flipping in the paddock while being saddled. Art Collector was withdrawn from the race early Derby week after suffering a minor hoof injury. Both, along with Authentic, are on target for the Preakness, to be run at Pimlico race course in Baltimore on Oct. 3. Swiss Skydiver, who was second to Art Collector in the Blue Grass and subsequently second to Shedaresthedevil in the G1 Kentucky Oaks on Sept. 4, is under consideration for the race.

Martin Garcia worked Authentic, a once-beaten Into Mischief colt who gave Baffert a record-tying sixth victory in the Kentucky Derby. Florent Geroux was aboard Thousand Words, a Pioneerof the Nile colt won the Aug. 1 Shared Belief Stakes in his most recent start, defeating the recently retired Honor A. P., the fourth-place Kentucky Derby finisher.

It was the first workout for both horses since the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby.

“Authentic is a big, strong horse and is handling things very well after the Derby,” said Baffert. “I think both horses worked really well this morning.” Baffert, who has been attending the Keeneland September Yearling Sales this past week, plans to return to his home base at Santa Anita in California in the next day or two and has kept his horses in the Churchill Downs barn of his fellow Hall of Famer and friend, D. Wayne Lukas. Baffert said he plans to breeze Thousand Words next Saturday, Sept. 26, and will return to supervise the final Preakness breeze for Authentic on Monday, Sept. 28. Both would then ship to Pimlico on Sept. 29, Baffert said.

Authentic galloped out past the wire, going six furlongs in 1:12.20 and seven-eighths of a mile in 1:25.20 after early fractions of :23.80 and :35.40. Art Collector, a Bernardini colt trained by Tommy Drury Jr., galloped out six furlongs in 1:11.60. He previously breezed a half-mile at Skylight Training Center near Louisville in :48.10 on Sept. 12.

“He's in a great spot right now with his fitness,” said Drury. “We wanted a bit more of a serious work today and he went well within himself. He'll have a maintenance work next weekend before we ship to Baltimore.”

Kenny McPeek, trainer of Swiss Skydiver, indicated to Daily Racing Form's Marty McGee that a Preakness decision for the multiple graded stakes-winning daughter of Daredevil wouldn't be made until the “midnight hour.”

Art Collector breezing at Churchill Downs Sept. 19 under Brian Hernandez Jr.

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In his most recent start, Honor A. P. dealt with an unlucky trip to finish a quickening fourth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, posting a 99 Beyer and traveling an incredible 49 more feet than the winner Authentic. This in turn means that the colt ran the fastest race of the field when accounting for ground loss.

“Honor A. P. is a horse with an immense talent,” said trainer John Shirreffs. “He was so forward and precocious that he broke his maiden second time out by over five lengths going two turns. Honor A. P. showed brilliance as a 2-year-old from the first time I saw him train and replicated it as a 3-year-old defeating the future Kentucky Derby winner. He ran a super race in the Derby and we later found that he came out of the race with an injury, so all things considered, what he accomplished was something special.”

As a 2-year-old, Honor A. P. broke his maiden at Santa Anita by over five lengths posting a 91 Beyer, one of the highest of his generation. His first start as a 3-year-old was in graded stakes company when he finished second in the G2 San Felipe Stakes. In his next start, he won the G1 Santa Anita Derby posting a 102 Beyer, becoming the only horse to defeat subsequent Kentucky Derby winner Authentic while also defeating G2 Pat Day Mile Stakes winner Rushie. The G1 Santa Anita Derby has long produced breed-shaping sires with past winners including A.P. Indy, Sunday Silence, Affirmed, Pioneerof the Nile and more. In his next start, the Shared Belief Stakes, he posted another 102 Beyer making him one of four 3-year-old colts in 2020 to post multiple triple-digit Beyers beyond a mile.

“Honor A. P. was a 'wow' horse from the beginning. He was the highest priced yearling in Honor Code's first crop. He was a standout 2-year-old at April Mayberry's, and the most recognizable horse in training at Santa Anita,” said Bill Farish. “His stunning good looks paired with his obvious talent make him just the type of prospect we are looking for at Lane's End.”

Honor A. P. is out of the multiple Grade 1 winner Hollywood Story, who earned $1,171,105 in her career and he is a half-sibling to three black-type winners. Hollywood Story is by Wild Rush, making Honor A. P.'s pedigree free of Mr. Prospector on his dam's side to five generations. His sire Honor Code is one of just four second-crop sires including Liam's Map and Constitution to produce a Grade 1 winner in 2020. To date, Honor A. P. is Honor Code's highest priced yearling commanding a final bid of $850,000 from David Ingordo for Lee and Susan Searing's CRK Stable at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

“Like any owner in this game, Susan and I have long dreamt about having a leading Derby contender,” said Lee Searing. “Honor A. P. has given us the journey of a lifetime and we are excited to stay involved in his next career as a stallion where we know he'll be in great hands at Lane's End.”

Honor A. P. will be available for inspection at Lane's End farm in the coming weeks and a stud fee will be determined.

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Owned by Sackatoga Stable, Tiz the Law arrived at the “Run for the Roses” off an unbeaten 3-year-old season that included victories in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 30 at Gulfstream Park, the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 20 and the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers on August 8 at Saratoga Race Course. Last season, he gave Sackatoga Stable their first Grade 1 triumph since Funny Cide [2004 Jockey Club Gold Cup] when winning the Champagne in only his second start.

Jack Knowlton, Sackatoga Stable's operating manager, said the Grade 1, $1 million Preakness Stakes on October 3 at Pimlico Race Course, the final leg of this year's Triple Crown, is still an option for the talented son of second crop sire Constitution with a work next week being a deciding factor.

“He'll be doing his regular gallops and as long as everything continues along well, then we'll have a work next weekend to assess where we are,” said Knowlton. “We want to make sure he comes out of the race well and acts like he did after the Travers. That's what we'd like to see moving forward.”

Bred in New York by Twin Creeks Farm, Tiz the Law is out of the Tiznow mare Tizfiz, boasting six victories from eight lifetime starts and earnings of $2.61 million

Following last Saturday's Kentucky Derby, Knowlton purchased a New York-bred yearling on behalf of Sackatoga Stable at the Fasig-Tipton Sale for $300,000. Bred in the Empire State by Barry Ostrager, the yearling son of Tiznow is out of the stakes-placed Gilded Time mare Eternal Grace, who produced multiple turf graded stakes placed Bye Bye Bernie. He was consigned by Hunter Valley Farm.

“We got a nice Tiznow colt that we really like a lot,” Knowlton said. “There were only a couple horses we bid on, but we persevered and got him. He's down in Ocala now and hopefully Tony Everard [of New Episode Training] can work his magic. If he can run in New York stakes races, that's our hope. It's not always easy getting those.”

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