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Gulfstream Making Plans For Fans To Attend At 50-Percent Capacity During Championship Meet

Racing fans will be able to attend the Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park, according to the Thoroughbred Daily News. The South Florida track will allow fans at up to 50 percent capacity beginning on Dec. 2; Gulfstream shut down to all spectators in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but owners and invited guests have been allowed to attend the races under strict protocols since June.

“This thing is not going away anytime soon and we will do everything we can to keep people protected,” said Bill Badgett, the executive director of Florida racing operations for The Stronach Group. “The box area will be open and some grandstand seating, with social distancing, will be available. That way we can delegate certain sections and areas that we can control.”

Fan protocols have not yet been finalized, but are likely to include temperature checks and mandatory masks.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Gulfstream Planning On Allowing Fans for Championship Meet

When Gulfstream kicks off its Championship Meet on Dec. 2, fans will be welcomed back to the South Florida track. Bill Badgett, the executive director of Florida racing operations for The Stronach Group, said the current plan is to allow fans to attend, with a limit of 50% of the track’s capacity. He said that would allow as many as 6,000 or 7,000 fans to attend races like the GI Pegasus World Cup and the GI Florida Derby.

“It will be great to see people down on the rail watching the horses and having a good time,” Badgett said. “It’s been depressing coming to work and nobody is in the stands.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been among the most aggressive governors in the country when it comes to allowing businesses to reopen. Late last month, he announced that all COVID-19-related restrictions on businesses have been lifted and that bars and restaurants in the state can operate at full capacity. Prior to Sunday’s NFL games, DeSantis gave the Miami Dolphins clearance to have a full-capacity crowd for their games at Hard Rock Stadium. The Dolphins said they would continue to allow 13,000 fans to attend home games at a stadium that seats 65,326.

Since June, owners and invited guests have been allowed to attend the races at Gulfstream. The track was first closed to the public on March 13, but racing continued at Gulfstream uninterrupted through the worst months of the pandemic.

Racing shifted to Gulfstream Park West, where there is no grandstand, Oct. 3.

Badgett acknowledged that it was hard to make plans because the COVID-19 situation in Florida remains so fluid. In mid-July there was a spike in the numbers with 15,300 Floridians testing positive on July 12. There were 2,582 positive tests in the state on Saturday.

“Trying to come up with a plan more than 60 days out before the meet starts is almost impossible because things change virtually hour to hour here,” he said. “They opened up the bars and restaurants to full capacity but the numbers are starting to go back up. You still have kids getting sick at school and around the country the athletes are still coming up positive and football games are being canceled. We are going to try 50% capacity at the start of the meet and work from there. Hopefully, things will get better. There’s a chance that as the meet goes on we can open up things even more.”

Badgett said management is still working on protocols that will be in place when the fans return. He said that, at the very least, all fans will undergo a temperature check before entering the facility and will be required to wear masks once inside.

“This thing is not going away anytime soon and we will do everything we can to keep people protected,” he said. “The box area will be open and some grandstand seating, with social distancing, will be available. That way we can delegate certain sections and areas that we can control.”

In addition to keeping the fans safe, Gulfstream will also have to keep an eye on the hundreds of horsemen, backstretch workers and jockeys that come in each year for the Championship meet.

“We have to protect these people and keep them safe,” Badgett said. “There is so much that goes into this, more than people realize. This will be difficult, but we will get it done.”

The post Gulfstream Planning On Allowing Fans for Championship Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Pegasus World Cup, Florida Derby Highlight 2019-2020 Championship Meet At Gulfstream Park

The Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series, which has evolved into one of sport's most exciting and prestigious days, and the Florida Derby, producer of an amazing 60 Triple Crown race winners, will highlight Gulfstream Park's 2020-2021 Championship Meet that begins Wednesday, Dec. 2.

Having attracted the world's top horses and horsemen since 1939, Gulfstream's Championship Meet will offer a total of 75 stakes, including 41 graded-stakes, worth $13.06 million in purses.

Entering its fifth year, the Pegasus World Cup Championship Series has continued to attract the sport's biggest stars including champions Arrogate, Gun Runner and California Chrome as well as 2019 winner City of Light and international sensations Aerolithe, Kukulkan and Magic Wand. The race has also brought out stars from film, music and fashion including Jennifer Lopez, Post Malone, Snoop Dogg, Olivia Culpo, Usher, Vanessa Hudgens, Lenny Kravitz, Pharrell and Bella Thorne.

Pegasus World Cup Day falls on Jan. 23, 2021 and will feature a total of seven stakes, all graded, worth $4.8 million led by the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) for 4-year-olds and up going 1 3/16 miles on the grass.

Gun Runner, Horse of the Year in 2017; 2014 and 2016 Horse of the Year California Chrome; 2016 Longines World's Best Racehorse Arrogate, the champion 3-year-old colt of 2016; and Mexico's undefeated Triple Crown champion Kukulkan are among the prominent horses that have competed in the Pegasus World Cup since its 2017 debut.

The Pegasus World Cup Turf saw its inaugural winner Bricks and Mortar go on to complete an undefeated 2019 season and be named both champion turf male and Horse of the Year. Irish star Magic Wand, a multiple group stakes winner of nearly $5 million in purses, has finished second in both years of the event.

Florida Derby Day will take place March 27, 2021 anchored by the $800,000 Florida Derby (G1), the country's leading classic prep race that has produced 45 starters that have gone on to win 60 Triple Crown events, a list that grew when 2020 winner Tiz the Law captured the Belmont Stakes (G1) in June.

The 1 1/8-mile Derby for 3-year-olds highlights a day of 10 stakes, six graded, worth $1.95 million in purses. Among the graded events is the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), the Derby's 3-year-old filly counterpart, won in 2020 by Swiss Skydiver, who became only the sixth filly in history to capture the Preakness Stakes (G1) Oct. 3.

The Derby is the culmination of a rich and diverse stakes schedule for 3-year-olds during the Championship Meet that kicks off with the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Jan. 2 and continues with the $200,000 Holy Bull (G3) and $100,000 Swale (G3) Jan. 30, $350,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 27, and $100,000 Hutcheson (G3) March 6.

Tiz the Law launched his sophomore season in the Holy Bull, a race that has produced a number of Grade 1 winners including Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby (G1) winners Always Dreaming (2017) and Barbaro (2016); Florida Derby winners Audible (2018), Dialed In (2011), Friends Lake (2004) and Harlan's Holiday (2002); as well as Grade 1 winners Jackson Bend, Editor's Note and Keen Ice.

Kentucky Derby and Florida Derby winners Orb (2013), Thunder Gulch (1995), Spectacular Bid (1979) and Tim Tam (1958) are among dozens of horses that have gone on to further graded success through the history of the Fountain of Youth, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2021.

Sophomore fillies also have a lucrative series on dirt to target, anchored by the Gulfstream Park Oaks and preceded by the $100,000 Cash Run Jan. 1, $100,000 Glitter Woman Jan. 2, $100,000 Forward Gal (G3) Jan. 30 and $200,000 Davona Dale (G2) Feb. 27.

Gulfstream's 3-year-old turf stakes include the $100,000 Kitten's Joy (G3) and $100,000 Sweetest Chant (G3) Jan. 30, $100,000 Palm Beach (G3) and $100,000 Herecomesthebride (G3) Feb. 27, and $100,000 Cutler Bay and $100,000 Sanibel Island March 27.

Among the major events scheduled for Gulfstream's world-class turf course are the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2) Dec. 12, $100,000 Tropical Turf (G3) Jan. 9, $150,000 W. L. McKnight (G3) Jan. 23, $100,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3) Feb. 13, $200,000 Mac Diarmida (G2) and $150,000 Canadian Turf (G3) Feb. 27, and $200,000 Pan American (G2) and $100,000 Appleton (G3) March 27.

Graded turf stakes for older fillies and mares include the $150,000 Marshua's River (G3) and $150,000 La Prevoyante (G3) Jan. 23, $100,000 Suwannee River (G3) Feb. 6, $150,000 Honey Fox (G3) and $150,000 The Very One (G3) Feb. 27, and $100,000 Orchid (G3) March 27.

For the ninth consecutive year, Gulfstream will play host to the $835,000 Claiming Crown on the Championship Meet's opening Saturday, Dec. 5. The Claiming Crown, comprised of nine stakes races featuring the blue-collar horses that are the backbone of the racing industry, is highlighted by the $200,000 Jewel.

Florida-breds will be in the spotlight once again Jan. 16 with the $400,000 Sunshine Millions Day program featuring the $100,000 Sunshine Millions Classic, which has produced such horses as Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Mucho Macho Man, multiple Grade 1 winner Lava Man and the popular 16-time career winner Best of the Rest.

The Championship Meet stakes schedule can be viewed at: gulfstreampark.com/championship-meet.

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