Churchill Downs | Horse Racing Free Tips

Kentucky Derby to be Run Without Fans

Just nine days after unveiling plans to allow about 23,000 spectators to attend the running of the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs announced Friday that no fans will be allowed to attend the race.

“We have made the difficult decision to hold this year’s Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 without fans,” read a statement from the track. “Churchill Downs and all of our team members feel strongly that it is our collective responsibility as citizens of Louisville to do all we responsibly can to protect the health, safety and security of our community in these challenging times and believe that running the Derby without spectators is the best way to do that. We deeply regret the disappointment this will bring to our loyal fans.”

Churchill Downs first announced plans June 29 to allow spectators. That came at a time when the COVID-19 numbers in Kentucky were relatively under control. However, the June announcement never specified how many fans would be allowed to attend. That was answered Aug. 12 when the 23,000 figure was released along with a 62-page operations plan. The plans included a mandate that patrons wear masks and the closing of the infield.

But the idea of having fans at the Derby seemed overly ambitious at the time because the coronavirus numbers in the state were climbing. According to the New York Times, there were 177 new cases in the state June 29 when the first announcement was made and 1,109 Aug. 12 at the time of the second announcement. The Times reported that were 1,067 cases Thursday.

A gathering of 23,000 at the Derby would have been the largest crowd assembled for any U.S. sporting event since the pandemic began.

On Thursday, Louisville mayor Greg Fischer said he would not be attending the Derby. He cited the high number of new coronavirus cases and protests being planned for Sept. 5 tied to the death of Breonna Taylor.

The Churchill announcement included a statement from Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, who backed the track’s decision.

“The virus is still aggressively spreading in Kentucky, and the White House has announced that Jefferson County and the City of Louisville are in a ‘red zone’ based on increases in cases. This week alone the county had more than 2,300 new cases.

Beshear said, “I applaud Churchill Downs for continuing to monitor the virus and for making the right and responsible decision. I am asking all Kentuckians to take action to stop the spread of the virus so we can get back to the many traditions we enjoy, like the Kentucky Derby.”

Churchill officials said in the announcement they had made the decision after consulting with public health authorities and that the positivity rate had gone from 2% in June to its current figure of 10%.

“This year’s Kentucky Derby was never going to be the celebration we’re used to, but I could not be more grateful to our tremendous team members and community partners for all of their efforts. We’ve left no stones unturned and reached the right decision,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Inc. “We hope our fans, the Louisville community and our country find an opportunity over the coming weeks to reflect on the challenges we have faced this year as a community and as a nation, and work together toward a better and safer future.”

Only essential personnel and participants will be permitted on property.

Ticket holders for all Derby week race dates and related programming will be automatically issued a refund.

The June 20 GI Belmont S., which was the first leg of the Triple Crown this year, was also held without fans. No announcements regarding fans at the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. have been issued yet by the Maryland Jockey Club.

The post Kentucky Derby to be Run Without Fans appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘Right And Responsible Decision’: Kentucky Derby 2020 To Be Held Without Fans

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Friday its decision to run the 146th Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, 2020 without fans. CDI
issued the following statement:

The Kentucky Derby is a time-honored American tradition which has always been about bringing people together. However, the health and safety of our team, fans and participants is our highest concern. Churchill Downs has worked diligently over the last several months to plan a safe Derby with a limited number of spectators in attendance. We were confident in that plan, but dedicated to remaining flexible using the best and most reliable information available. With the current significant increases in COVID-19 cases in Louisville as well as across the region, we needed to again revisit our planning. We have made the difficult decision to hold this year's Kentucky Derby on September 5 without fans. Churchill Downs and all of our team members feel strongly that it is our collective responsibility as citizens of Louisville to do all we responsibly can to protect the health, safety and security of our community in these challenging times and believe that running the Derby without spectators is the best way to do that. We deeply regret the disappointment this will bring to our loyal fans.

The decision comes with the support of Governor Andy Beshear.

“The virus is still aggressively spreading in Kentucky, and the White House has announced that Jefferson County and the City of Louisville are in a 'red zone' based on increases in cases. This week alone the county had more than 2,300 new cases,” Gov. Beshear said. “I applaud Churchill Downs for continuing to monitor the virus and for making the right and responsible decision. I am asking all Kentuckians to take action to stop the spread of the virus so we can get back to the many traditions we enjoy, like the Kentucky Derby.”

Since early May, decisions regarding this year's Kentucky Derby have been made in consultation with public health authorities including data provided by medical experts at Norton Healthcare. Positivity rates in the more than 70,000 patients tested at Norton have gone from as low as two percent in June to a rapid escalation of 10 percent in recent days.

“This is a critical point in time for our community,” said Russell F. Cox, president and CEO of Norton Healthcare. “This remains a very fluid situation and every event should be evaluated based on the data available as close to the date of the event as possible. We appreciate and support Churchill Downs' decision.”

“This year's Kentucky Derby was never going to be the celebration we're used to, but I could not be more grateful to our tremendous team members and community partners for all of their efforts. We've left no stones unturned and reached the right decision,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “We hope our fans, the Louisville community and our country find an opportunity over the coming weeks to reflect on the challenges we have faced this year as a community and as a nation, and work together toward a better and safer future.”

Additional information about Kentucky Derby 146:

 The decision to run without fans includes Kentucky Oaks on Friday, Sept. 4 and all live racing at Churchill Downs Racetrack for Derby week (Sept. 1-5). Only essential personnel and participants will be permitted on property.
 Ticket holders for all Derby week race dates and related programming, including Dawn at the Downs, will be automatically issued a refund.
 NBC will televise coverage of the Kentucky Derby and undercard racing on Sept. 5 from 2:30-7:30 p.m. ET. The 146th running of the Kentucky Oaks will be televised Friday, Sept. 4 on NBCSN from 3-6 p.m. ET.

The post ‘Right And Responsible Decision’: Kentucky Derby 2020 To Be Held Without Fans appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Thoroughbred Idea Foundation: Horsemen Deserve Fair Compensation

Horsemen should be properly compensated for content. A major source of funding for the sport and its stakeholders, is in jeopardy.

Horsemen have been pawns in the operation of racing for decades, not receiving their fair share of compensation for the content that their horses provide. The effects of the global pandemic have only made this clearer. Through the first six months of 2020, wagering on American races is down nearly 11 percent. Purses, however, are down 40 percent.

When the doors to casinos closed, and racing was put on hold, horsemen suffered. The owners and operators of advanced deposit wagering outlets like TwinSpires and Xpressbet did not. In fact, profits from Churchill Downs Incorporated's online wagering business rose 39 percent in Q2 2020 from the previous year despite not hosting its flagship event!

These two entities, among other ADWs, were pressed into service like never before because of the pandemic's impact which effectively closed on-track betting. While undoubtedly helpful, the customers forced to switch online may never return to betting through the sport's most lucrative channels – on-track wagering. This will hasten the imbalance in contributions to purses.

As most horsemen realize, online, out-of-state bets on racing are often the least valuable to purses. Now, ADW betting is the vast majority of wagering and unlikely to change soon. Even worse, the ADWs continue to retain an outsized portion of the commissions from wagering takeout. Without racing, the ADWs have little to offer customers. They should not take advantage of the horsemen who enable their very existence.

In its latest publication (click the link to read more), the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF) calls on horsemen, and their representative groups, to begin asking critical questions about the composition of wagering on its races, increasing attentiveness to approvals of wagering contracts and to better understand the delicate balance needed to continue sustaining racing purses. Racing operators act purely from a position of self-interest.

Horsepeople need to start doing the same.

The time to fix the broken model is now.

Roughly 65 percent of all wagering on racing in Q2 2020 came from the major ADWs, like TVG, TwinSpires, Xpressbet and NYRA Bets. So if doors were closed to tracks, where did the rest originate?

TIF estimates that approximately one-third of all wagering on American racing comes from entities we characterize as “high-volume betting shops,” or HVBS, which are the equivalent of private, high-end wagering platforms which do not need separate ADWs. As HVBS wagering increases, a series of disadvantages are created, increasing costs on all other bettors, and having the effect of reducing participation from, or outright eliminating, non-HVBS players.

The impact for all racing stakeholders, particularly horsemen, will be felt over time because HVBS players (which number in the dozens) are often the least profitable towards purses. HVBS wagering has increased over time, from only 8 percent of U.S. betting in 2003 to the estimated 30 to 35 percent now. When you adjust for inflation, racing's least valuable customers (relative to their contribution to purses) have increased by 114 percent in the last 16 years.

Meanwhile, participation from racing's most valuable customers – recreational players wagering under $100,000 annually – is declining at alarming rates. Make no mistake – our sport needs ALL of its customers, both from HVBS and non-HVBS sources. TIF estimates that all non-HVBS play has declined by a staggering 63 percent, adjusted for inflation, since 2003.

The most valuable source of prize money has dropped by a significant amount while the least valuable source has increased substantially.

This situation threatens purse levels in the intermediate and long-term across all racing jurisdictions, but particularly in light of the evolution of competitive wagering products – legal sports betting, daily fantasy sports and the growth of online casinos, which do not contribute revenue to purses even if the online license is granted to a track operator.

As racing faces declining contributions from casino-related revenues towards purses, or worse – loses all casino-based contributions to purses – along with a steady rise in wagering competition, horsemen must get involved in these contracts and start asking questions, increasing attention on the racing wagering business.

If you would like more information, please reach out to TIF Executive Director Patrick Cummings or one of the TIF board members.

The post Thoroughbred Idea Foundation: Horsemen Deserve Fair Compensation appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Coronavirus Spread, Racial Justice Demonstrations: Louisville Mayor Won’t Attend Kentucky Derby

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer told the Courier-Journal on Thursday that his current plan doesn't include attending this year's Kentucky Derby, rescheduled for Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs. Fischer usually does attend the annual event.

Churchill has already announced it will close the infield and restrict the number of attendees for this year's race, down from approximately 150,000 to 23,000.

Fischer cited the rising rate of coronavirus cases in Louisville, which his chief medical officer, Dr. Sarah Moyer, has compared to a “wildfire,” as well as the racial justice demonstrations being planned for that day in Louisville by the NFAC. The demonstrations are a response to the death of Breonna Taylor, a nationally publicized case in which the Black woman was fatally shot by Louisville police.

“We do expect some people in town for that,” Fischer said. “Obviously we want to make sure we're connected to everything that's going on and planning accordingly. Like every day, that will be a busy day, just a little more so with the running of the races.”