covid-19 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Canadian Yearling Auctions Slated To Be Conducted In-Person

The yearling sales for the provincial divisions of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society are expected to be conducted in a live-auction format in 2020, foregoing the option of going online, Canadian Thoroughbred reports.

The publication contacted CTHS representatives in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba, with each confirming that their “Plan A” is to hold their sales as normal, within their local and national guidelines in regards to COVID-19 safety. Like anything else during the pandemic, plans are subject to change depending on increased or decreased restrictions.

First on the calendar is the CTHS Manitoba Division sale, to be held at the Red River Exhibition Grounds in Winnipeg on Sunday, Aug. 23.

The Canadian Premier Sale in Ontario will be held Wednesday, Sept, 2 at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion in Toronto. Should Ontario not be fully re-open for business by the time of the sale, the auction will be held with limitations on group sizes, and guidelines on social distancing, mask wearing, and sanitary measures. Should the situation become especially dire, CTHS Ontario will consider expanded phone and online bidding options.

British Columbia's yearling sale will take place Tuesday, Sept. 8 at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, though the group is still waiting on the province to reach the next phase of reopening before the sale can be conducted as planned. Regardless of where the province is in its recovery, the traditional preview parade for the sale has been canceled due to crowd size restrictions.

Rounding out the quartet is the CTHS Alberta sale in Friday, Sept. 18 at Westerner Park in Red Deer.

University Of Louisville, KEEP Release Second COVID-10 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey

The University of Louisville Equine Industry Program and the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) have released the second round of their COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey. The survey will be shared with employers throughout Kentucky's horse industry and community to further capture the impacts of the pandemic on the Commonwealth's signature industry.

The second round of the COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey will close July 13. Access the survey here.

The previous survey, conducted in May, showed that the pandemic resulted in Kentucky's equine businesses cutting costs and postponing capital improvement projects. However, the survey indicated that the vast majority of respondents did not have to lay off employees.

Since the last survey, horse racing has resumed in Kentucky, although without spectators, and historical horse racing facilities have reopened with limited capacity. The second round of the COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey will capture how this is affecting the equine businesses across the state. Churchill Downs announced last week that the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, scheduled for Sept. 4 and Sept. 5, will occur with a limited number of spectators.

Survey participants will not be identified in the published results.

“Since we completed our first survey in May, the state has lifted some of the restrictions on the horse industry, which should provide a boost to equine business across the state,” said Elisabeth Jensen, KEEP's executive vice president who oversees the daily operations of the organization. “However, we have yet to see the impact of how the pandemic is affecting horse sales and what that means for Kentucky's equine economy. We hope that this second round of our survey can, when combined with the data from our May survey, paint a clearer picture of the challenges the industry will face.”

“The UofL Equine Industry Program educates and trains the next generation of leaders for Kentucky's signature industry,” said Sean Beirne, director of the UofL Equine Industry Program in the College of Business. “The COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey provides us with an incredible up-to-the-moment view of the challenges that the industry will face in the coming years. In addition to helping inform policy-makers on the status of the industry, we can also use this data to prepare our students for the challenges of the industry they will be entering.”

The Kentucky Equine Education Project is a not-for-profit grassroots organization created in 2004 to preserve, promote and protect Kentucky's multi-breed horse industry.

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Making Ends Meet: Thoroughbred Threads

Much of the early part of the 2020 racing season has been uprooted, courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic, forcing many businesses into states of unexpected struggle and uncertainty.

As a result, the flagging economy, coupled with the shutdown of racing at many tracks around the nation, left an indelible mark on many small equine-related businesses, many of whom have been shuttered or saw their trade fall off dramatically over the past months. With racing slowly resuming, albeit spectator-less, many businesses attempt to regain some traction as the industry ebbs toward a sense of normalcy. The TDN reaches out to small businesses in the racing industry and asks how the pandemic has affected their business and what are their plans to help expedite recovery.

COMPANY: THOROUGHBRED THREADS LLC

PRINCIPAL/OWNER: EVAN CIANNELLO

What prompted you to launch Thoroughbred Threads?

EC: After spending a lot of time at the racetrack, I noticed that mostly everyone wears a hat to proudly display their silks, farm or big horse. I also noticed there was a lot of room for improvement as far as the quality of these hats, so I started Thoroughbred Threads to offer an upgrade. Thoroughbred Threads offers high quality branded apparel and other promotional products catered to the Thoroughbred industry.

Can you tell us a little about your business model?

EC: I’m a big fan of giving back to the industry so we donate a percentage of proceeds from every sale to Thoroughbred aftercare. After an encouraging first full year in business in 2018, our sales grew by over 150% in 2019 so there was a lot of optimism going into 2020. And then Covid-19 hit.

How did you deal with the coronavirus pandemic early on?

EC: Like other companies during the shutdown, I began making more calls and sending more e-mails just to stay top-of-mind for when the time did come when my customers were ready to start placing orders again.

Previously, our website had been used as a landing page for prospective customers to see what we’re about as our orders are very detail-oriented and so we traditionally hadn’t handled a lot of e-commerce, but we have recently been accommodating a few clients who wanted us to set up an online store to sell their branded products to their own clientele. It’s something new for us, but we’re always happy to learn new things and help make life easier for our clients.

People are usually stocking up on polo shirts and lightweight hats and vests to wear on the backside or golf course in the spring time, but now they’re looking for branded face masks and hand sanitizer. I’m very grateful for the manufacturers who are able to adapt in this sort of environment to meet this new demand.

How did the economic uncertainty impact your business?

EC: I knew sales would suffer during the early days of the pandemic when auctions and other events were canceled and many racetracks shut down overnight. You know it’s pretty serious when Churchill Downs is willing to postpone the Kentucky Derby! With so much uncertainty on the calendar, it put ordering on hold as marketing departments had little to promote. For the others who were still operating, many had to make drastic cuts to their marketing budgets. Thankfully, now that more race meets are resuming and sales companies are announcing new sales dates, the phones have started ringing which is a very welcome sound.

Do you have advice to other small business owners on how to weather future storms?

EC: I am blessed to have had a few other sources of income which helped to weather the storm as I also co-manage a few racing/pinhooking partnerships and I’m also a sales rep for U.S. Compounding Veterinary Pharmacy. I know many other small businesses aren’t as fortunate and my heart really does go out to them. Now that the stock market has bounced back in a huge way, hopefully there are a lot of people out there who are eager to get out and spend some money (especially on some horses or some nice swag for their barn)!

For more information on Thoroughbred Threads, visit https://thoroughbred-threads.com/

The post Making Ends Meet: Thoroughbred Threads appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Breeders’ Cup Extends Racing Age Nomination Discount Deadline To Aug. 15

Due to changes in racetrack schedules and auction sales dates as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, the Breeders' Cup announced Monday that it is extending the discount deadline for horses of racing age to Saturday, Aug. 15.

All horses must be Breeders' Cup-nominated in order to compete in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland Race Course Lexington, Ky., Nov. 6-7.

The original horses of racing age nomination discount deadline was July 15.

“Although most Breeders' Cup nominated horses join the program as weanlings, there are a few each year that didn't get the Breeders' Cup advantage as a foal,” said Dora Delgado, Breeders' Cup Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Officer. “We created the horses of racing age nomination program to make sure all runners have a chance to compete in our racing programs including the Breeders' Cup World Championships. Now that racing has resumed in most locations, we believe our one-month extension will allow horsemen to better evaluate their racing stock and nominate to the Breeders' Cup program, providing eligibility for their entire racing career.”

The nomination discounts are as follows:

2-year-olds by a nominated Breeders' Cup stallion can join the program for US$12,000. This one-time nomination fee makes the racehorse Breeders' Cup-eligible for its entire racing career.
Runners which are 3-year-olds and older that were foaled in the Northern Hemisphere and sired by a nominated stallion will receive a 50% discount off normal racehorse nomination fees. Three-year-olds and older which were born in the Southern Hemisphere can be nominated for 25% of their regular nomination fee.
All nominated racehorses are eligible for the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will have purses and awards totaling more than $35 million this year, and for any other Breeders' Cup racing program for their entire racing careers.

Following the Aug. 15 deadline, the price for all non-nominated runners reverts back to the standard racehorse nomination fee of US$100,000 or more until Oct. 26, when all runners must be pre-entered for the Breeders' Cup World Championships races.

Owners may nominate their horses of racing age online at https://members.breederscup.com/Nomination/RacehorseNominationTerms1 or by calling the Breeders' Cup Racing department at 859-514-9422.

Owners of horses of racing age by non-nominated stallions also can take advantage of discounted prices before Aug. 15. Two-year-olds by non-nominated stallions can join the program for US$18,000; Northern Hemisphere 3-year-olds and older for US$100,000 and Southern Hemisphere 3-year-olds and older for US$50,000.

Below is the complete list of nomination prices and deadlines:

Horses of Racing Age sired by Nominated Stallion and Nominated before Aug. 15.

Two-Year-Olds: $12,000 (US)
Three-Year-Olds & Up (Northern Hemisphere-bred): $50,000 (US)
Three-Year-Olds & Up (Southern Hemisphere-bred): $25,000 (US)

Horses of Racing Age sired by Nominated Stallion and Nominated after Aug. 15.

Two-Year-Olds: $100,000 (US)
Three-Year-Olds & Up (Northern Hemisphere-bred): $100,000 (US)
Three-Year-Olds & Up (Southern Hemisphere-bred): $100,000 (US)

Sired by NON-Nominated Stallion and Nominated before Aug. 15.

Two-Year-Olds: $18,000 (US)
Three-Year-Olds & Up (Northern Hemisphere-bred): $100,000 (US)
Three-Year-Olds & Up (Southern Hemisphere-bred): $50,000 (US)

Sired by NON-Nominated Stallion and Nominated after Aug. 15.

Two-Year-Olds: $200,000 (US)
Three-Year-Olds & Up (Northern Hemisphere-bred): $200,000 (US)
Three-Year-Olds & Up (Southern Hemisphere-bred): $200,000 (US)

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