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Britain: Goodwood Festival To Be Among Pilot Events Welcoming Crowds Back To Sports

British horse racing welcomes the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) announcement that one of the pilot events to welcome crowds back to elite sporting venues in England will take place on 1st August at Goodwood Racecourse, as part of the Qatar Goodwood Festival. The pilot is part of the Government's fifth stage in the Return to Elite Competition protocol.

This is potentially an important step forward in the sporting economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and the industry is grateful for the support of DCMS in selecting horse racing to be one of the sports to host a pilot event, two months after it returned safely behind closed doors.

The RCA-led Stage 5 industry working group have also worked tirelessly in recent weeks to enable this pilot event to take place, reflecting the unique characteristics of racecourses as outdoor sporting venues.

This event will be a pilot to implement new safety protocols developed by DCMS, the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) and Racing to implement new safety protocols to allow elite sporting venues to welcome back spectators. An event for 5,000 people, plus participants, has been designed for the safety of all participants and racegoers. Attendance will initially be offered to Goodwood Racecourse Annual Members and their guests. The day will be carefully planned in conjunction with the local government and other relevant bodies to ensure that the event carries minimal risk to attendees and the local community.

The sport recognizes the continued support of racehorse owners through this extremely challenging period and as part of the pilot, new initiatives which may increase the number of owners on course and increase the level of hospitality offered will be trialed.

For all racegoers attending the event, a code of conduct must be acknowledged and agreed in advance. This sets out expectations on the behavior and actions of everyone involved to maintain hygiene levels and social distancing, as well as outlining the facilities and initiatives put in place by the racecourse to enable this. Further information will be published in due course.

Following the pilot event, the Stage 5 industry group will conduct a thorough debrief to understand which measures worked well and which require further refinement.

Whilst collectively we share the excitement of all involved in hosting this event, it will not be possible for all racecourses to immediately follow suit and welcome crowds. This will be subject to a successful debrief, finalizing the extensive protocols involved and further permission granted from Government.

David Armstrong, RCA Chief Executive and Chair of the welcoming crowds industry group, commented: “We welcome the fact that horseracing is to be selected as one of the pilot events to welcome back crowds and my team and I acknowledge the great responsibility upon us.

“The safety protocols involved will be stringent and the Goodwood Racecourse team are in a fantastic place to implement them. The sport has come together to offer support to ensure the pilot event provides us with sufficient learnings that others may follow in time. These learnings will allow us to draft industry-wide protocols fir the wider scale return of crowds as soon as we are able.

“Crowds bring a wonderful atmosphere to a raceday and many businesses associated with racecourses are reliant upon them. I sincerely hope that all involved enjoy their day— our focus now turns to supporting the Goodwood team in what is a landmark day for the sport.”

Adam Waterworth, Sport Managing Director at the Goodwood Estate, commented: “We are delighted that the Qatar Goodwood Festival has been selected as a pilot event for the return of crowds. It marks an important day for the sports industry following a few challenging months.

“Our Annual Members have continued to support us throughout, for which we are enormously grateful. It is therefore fantastic to offer them the opportunity to witness racing on The Downs again.

“The Goodwood team will ensure the racecourse adheres to Government guidelines on social distancing and hygiene. We hope that this will be the next step in ensuring crowds for future sporting events.”

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Prairie Meadows Joins List Of Tracks Implementing Jockey Restrictions

Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Alttona, Ia. is updating its jockey policies as of Friday, July 17, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.

The following restrictions will be implemented:

No new jockeys will be allowed into the current jockey colony at Prairie Meadows.
Any rider in the current jockey colony that accepts a mount at another track must self-quarantine for a 14-day period. The quarantine period will start the day following the jockey's most recent mount outside of Prairie Meadows. Once the self-quarantine period is over, the jockey must provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test within 5 days to be allowed to ride again at Prairie Meadows.

This protocol is in effect until further notice.

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Prairie Meadows Institutes New Jockey Policy

Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino is updating their jockey policies. The new policy goes into effect July 17 at 6:00 p.m.

The following restrictions will be implemented:

No new jockeys will be allowed into the current jockey colony at Prairie Meadows. Anyone in the current jockey colony that accepts a mount at another track must self-quarantine for a 14-day period. The quarantine period will start the day following the jockey’s most recent mount outside of Prairie Meadows. Once the self-quarantine period is over, the jockey must provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test within 5 days to be allowed to ride again at Prairie Meadows. This protocol is in effect until further notice.

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Saratoga Regulars Bring the Spa to their Backyard

“And they’re off at Saratoga!”

Five words that hundreds, if not thousands, of people live to hear every July as the ceremonial phrase marks the beginning of another historic Saratoga Race Meet.

While most normal attendees were unable hear those Tom Durkin-inspired words in person this year, some did their best to make the most of the situation.

The enthusiasm from Mark Struffolino might be the example racing fans can look to emulate. Born and raised in upstate New York, the Rotterdam resident grew up spending summers at the Spa, and has attended opening day with the same group of friends for nearly 30 years.

Struffolino knew that his friends would be devastated when they couldn’t spend their summer weekends in Saratoga’s famed backyard as they have for decades, so he brought the tradition right to their hometown.

Over the past two months, the Saratoga fanatic has been busy building his own picnic area in his backyard. The project was finished on the eve of opening day, and is now complete with a TV kiosk, a red-and-white striped quarter pole and of course, a picnic table.

“This all started because of the pandemic,” Struffolino said. “My buddies were all down in the dumps, so I knew we had to do something. I took it upon myself to do something special for everyone and not waste an entire summer.”

The project was initially planned as a surprise for his friends, but Struffolino soon realized he would need some extra hands.

“When I got the idea, I put it all on paper and bought the material,” Struffolino said. “I started to build it, but then realized I was going to need more help. So I told my friends, and they all thought I was crazy.”

The most difficult part of the project was the kiosk umbrella. While the Saratoga version is comprised of steel, Struffolino and his team used framing lumber and plywood. Struffolino said the end result was a near-400 pound canopy.

“I had concrete brought in, I had to have a building permit and it was just a whole to-do,” he said with a laugh.

The finishing touch was the quarter pole, which was completed just this week.

“I saw one online and I was like no way, we have to have that,” Struffolino said. “Tuesday we finished putting in new fencing, so we wrapped up right in time for opening day.”

Quarter pole completed on the eve of opening day | Mark Struffolino

While his friends may have been doubters at first, they soon got in on the fun, even taking off work to ensure that the project was finished before the start of the race meet.

“We all agreed we needed to do more, we needed more,” Struffolino said. “We were so close to the deadline and when it went crazy on social media, we had to get it finished. The news has been here twice and Anthony Stabile wants to do a fundraiser here on a dark day. The guys are so excited.”

The group is not only a band of die-hard fans, they’ve also been involved in various partnerships over the years.

“I was in the first partnership with Parting Glass Racing with Tom Gallo years ago,” Struffolino recalled. “We’ve had a couple of our own horses and they’ve been trained by Carlos Martin.”

No matter if they have a horse running or not, the friends can typically be found at the Spa on any given race day, and are usually up before the crack of dawn to participate in the traditional run for the picnic tables.

“We’re usually at the track at 5:30 in the morning,” Stuffolino said. “And as soon as they open the gates we run in and start with mimosas and breakfast. It’s a big to-do.”

But Struffolino said the early mornings are more than worth it in order to fully experience the magic of Saratoga, a sentiment shared with most Spa-goers.

“You can’t beat the atmosphere,” he said. “It’s so upbeat, everybody is having a good time. I don’t think you’ll see a sad face in that place. It’s magical, everything about it. From opening day to Labor Day. You can go there on a Wednesday and hang out with 15,000 people who are all in a great mood. Where can you do that anywhere else?”

The finished project at dusk | Mark Struffolino

This year the friends were still able to have a great opening day, and certainly one that they will remember for many years to come. Struffolino reported that of course there were still mimosas in the morning, although this year they commenced at eight in the morning instead of six.

“Nobody works on opening day because it’s Christmas Day,” he said. “It’s nothing from the gambling standpoint for us, it’s the people we’ve met. Between ownership and friends of friends, we’ve met a lot of great people. So we’re going to do the same thing we normally do because it’s something to look forward to now. It’s difficult enough with the pandemic. The whole world has changed. So this was a way to gain some normalcy without it being one hundred percent normal.”

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