coronavirus | Horse Racing Free Tips

Woodbine Cancels Final Three Weeks of Meet Due to COVID Restrictions, Will Close After Sunday’s Card

As a result of the Government of Ontario’s announcement Friday that Toronto will be entering the Province’s grey ‘Lockdown’ phase of coronavirus-related restrictions, Woodbine Entertainment announced that Sunday will be the last day in 2020 of Thoroughbred racing in the Province.

“We have been, and continue to be, extremely supportive of the Government’s efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout our Province and appreciate the many difficult decisions they have to make,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. “We have approached the Government to explain the impacts this decision will have on our business and the horse racing industry in Ontario. With a better understanding of our operations and based on our safety record in operating live racing at our racetracks, we hope that the Government will consider these impacts in the future and assist us in managing the potentially devastating impact to horsepeople and animal welfare this early shutdown will cause.”

The cancelled race cards (12) at Woodbine Racetrack represented a significant opportunity for horsepeople to earn purse money that is critical for their livelihoods and the welfare of their horses as they enter the off-season for Thoroughbred racing in Ontario.

“Our organization’s sole mandate is to sustain the horse racing industry that supports the livelihoods of 20,000 families throughout the Province,” mentioned Lawson. “Woodbine Entertainment is the engine of that industry and this early shutdown further impacts our business.”

Woodbine Entertainment has approximately 1,300 employees either temporarily or permanently laid off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This shutdown of racing also negatively impacts the approximately 2,000 horsepeople on the Woodbine backstretch, putting many of them out of work.

The recent ‘Lockdown’ restrictions prohibit live racing although do allow for training to continue, however it is expected that training will be wound down this week.

“Since we started racing at Woodbine and Mohawk Park in early June, we have demonstrated that racing without spectators poses no greater health risk to participants than training,” said Lawson. “We have been a leader in health and safety since the beginning of the pandemic and we are extremely proud of our record and the cooperation of our racing participants in maintaining safe racing environments.”

Woodbine Entertainment will provide further updates Monday regarding the closure of the season at Woodbine Racetrack.

The post Woodbine Cancels Final Three Weeks of Meet Due to COVID Restrictions, Will Close After Sunday’s Card appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Government ‘Lockdown’ Forces Early End To Woodbine’s 2020 Race Meet

As a result of the Government of Ontario's announcement on Friday that Toronto will be entering the Province's grey “Lockdown” phase of coronavirus-related restrictions, Woodbine Entertainment announced that Sunday, Nov. 22, will be the last day in 2020 of Thoroughbred racing in the Province.

“We have been, and continue to be, extremely supportive of the Government's efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout our Province and appreciate the many difficult decisions they have to make,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. “We have approached the Government to explain the impacts this decision will have on our business and the horse racing industry in Ontario. With a better understanding of our operations and based on our safety record in operating live racing at our racetracks, we hope that the Government will consider these impacts in the future and assist us in managing the potentially devastating impact to horsepeople and animal welfare this early shutdown will cause.”

“Our organization's sole mandate is to sustain the horse racing industry that supports the livelihoods of 20,000 families throughout the Province,” mentioned Lawson. “Woodbine Entertainment is the engine of that industry and this early shutdown further impacts our business.”

The recent “Lockdown” restrictions prohibit live racing although do allow for training to continue; however it is expected that training will be wound down this week.

Woodbine Entertainment will provide further updates on Monday regarding the closure of the season at Woodbine Racetrack.

The post Government ‘Lockdown’ Forces Early End To Woodbine’s 2020 Race Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Golden Gate, Health Department Issue COVID Update; 200 Positive Tests

Golden Gate Fields and the City of Berkeley Public Health issued the following update Friday evening with regards to a COVID-19 outbreak at the track which has shut down racing at least through November:

City of Berkeley Public Health continues to work closely with Golden Gate Fields on a significant outbreak where more than 200 people living or working on-site at the racetrack have tested positive for COVID-19. 1/ST RACING, which operates the track, is following all of the City’s recommendations for testing, quarantine and isolation. The steps they have taken include the following:

Every person living or working on-site has been tested and additional testing will be done.

All those who have tested positive are isolated off-site, following federal, state and City guidelines. The track is assisting with off-site housing for those who have tested positive and has arranged for twice daily food delivery to ensure that those individuals do not have to leave isolation and have the essential items they require.

Golden Gate Fields’ on-site medical director, an infectious disease expert, is providing medical consultation to those who live and work at the racetrack.

For those close contacts who have tested negative but still need to quarantine for 14 days, the track is providing daily food delivery and access to medical support as well as the means to safely quarantine, including additional bathrooms and handwashing stations.

Golden Gate Fields continues to implement health and safety measures including, strict social distancing, masking policies and regular COVID-19 testing with isolation requirements for any positive cases or identified close contacts.

Both Berkeley Public Health and 1/ST RACING will be closely monitoring the situation to follow all local, state and federal guidelines. Should testing identify more cases, further investigation and tracing will be done by Berkeley Public Health and additional isolation and quarantine will be required.

The post Golden Gate, Health Department Issue COVID Update; 200 Positive Tests appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Immediate Future of Racing at Woodbine Unclear Following Lockdown Declaration

During a Friday afternoon briefing, Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, Canada, announced a mandatory 28-day lockdown in the city of Toronto and the suburb of Peel, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Nov. 23. It was not immediately clear how the decision would impact racing operations at Woodbine Racetrack, though the Toronto Star reported that while training can continue, racing will cease.

“With the numbers rising rapidly in certain regions, we have to make the tough, but necessary decisions now to protect our hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes, and every person in this province,” said Premier Ford. “We cannot afford a province-wide lockdown, so we are taking preventative action today by moving Toronto and Peel into Lockdown level restrictions and other regions into higher levels of restrictions. We need to take decisive action to stop the spread of this deadly virus.”

Late Friday, Jamie Dykstra, Director of Communications and Content for Woodbine Entertainment, issued a statement that read: “Since the beginning of our province’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, our commitment to public safety has not wavered. We are extremely supportive of the Government’s efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout our community.

“Furthermore, we are very proud of our safety record at Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park in this regard. To that end, we are currently working to understand the implications this recent news will have on Thoroughbred racing at Woodbine Racetrack and the thousands of people it supports throughout the province.

“We will provide further updates at the appropriate time.”

The racing season at Woodbine was delayed from its usual mid-April start to June 6 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. As recently as Nov. 19, track officials announced that they were managing a COVID positive in an active jockey, but that live racing would be able to proceed. Woodbine was scheduled to conclude its 2020 season Sunday, Dec. 13.

The post Immediate Future of Racing at Woodbine Unclear Following Lockdown Declaration appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post