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France Galop to Redistribute Purses for Some 2020 Races

All races in France since May 11, 2020 which carried a reduced purse due to the COVID-19 pandemic will receive part of their original prizemoney back in the second half of January, France Galop announced on Monday. At the end of 2020, France Galop’s funding budget was €185 million instead of €248 million, a 25% decrease due to the two-month period racing ceased in France during the first French lockdown. In August, the France Galop Board of Directors determined that a positive funding result-if there was one–at the end of the year should be redistributed in the form of incentives to partially compensate for the decrease applied from May 11. The expected amount of excess funding is supposed to be greater than €8 million, but France Galop and the PMU are still confirming the amount. The prize money that will be available for each race will increase exactly the same amount in any race, with premiums to owners and breeders also increased. The annual closing of the professional accounts is scheduled for Jan. 12 and then France Galop must proceed to invalidate more than 3200 races before recalculating the allowance and bonuses on all of the affected events. This revaluation of all race winnings will replace the annual revaluation of the owner premium. For more information, please visit www.france-galop.com.

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Beloved Santa Anita Paddock Captain Shear Looking Forward To Celebrating 100th Birthday But Misses The Horses

Although his preferred venue is off the agenda for the time being, Santa Anita's beloved Paddock Captain John Shear will nonetheless celebrate his 100^th birthday with family this Sunday, Jan. 17. Furloughed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, Shear, who has been employed by the track since 1961, would dearly love to return to his beloved Santa Anita.

Santa Anita will name a race in honor of Shear's 100^th birthday on Sunday, and although they'll be unable to attend, Shear and his wife Diane and son Michael, will spend his 100^th birthday at John and Diane's Sierra Madre home watching the races and wading through dozens of birthday greetings from jockeys, trainers and track employees via a virtual birthday card presented by Santa Anita.

I enjoy watching on television, but nothing compares to being at Santa Anita,” said Shear. “We just hope this pandemic will end soon and we can get back to normal. My wife and I are trying to stay busy with exercise classes and we spend as much time outdoors as we can. We're being careful, staying out of stores and ordering things to go, but I miss working and being around the horses so much.”

A native of England who was raised from age four to 14 in an orphanage, Shear, at four feet, 11 inches, originally aspired to be a jockey and following World War II, emigrated to Vancouver, B.C. from where he came to Santa Anita as an exercise boy in 1954.

“I was exercising horses for a guy in Vancouver and he asked me if I'd like to go with him to Santa Anita that fall,” said Shear when interviewed a year ago. “I said 'Sure,' and as soon as I stepped off that van in the Stable Area here, I said 'Lord, this is where I want to be.' The place was so incredibly beautiful and I've never gotten tired of it.”

And The Great Race Place will never tire of John Shear, a man who gained national attention nine years ago when at the age of 91, he heroically threw himself between an on-rushing loose horse and a 5-year-old girl who was standing with her father outside of Santa Anita's Seabiscuit Walking Ring.

On the cusp of his 100^th birthday, Shear no doubt speaks for thousands of race goers when he says, “I just hope I can get back to the track soon.”

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Can I Contract Coronavirus From My Horse? A Vet Responds

Just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic became a reality for people in the United States, the equine version of the coronavirus was making its way through show facilities and racetracks across the nation. Thankfully, the equine coronavirus is not transmissible to humans and is not the cause of the worldwide pandemic.

Dr. James Williams of Novato, CA, reports that the only way a human could contract COVID-19 from a horse would be for an infected human to cough onto a horse's coat and then for another human to touch the horse (and the droplets), then touch his nose or mouth. This is the same way a non-infected human might contract COVID-19 from a countertop an infected person coughed on.

Thankfully, both scenarios seem highly unlikely: Most viruses are species specific. When horses are infected with the equine corona, they typically run a fever, have no appetite, are lethargic and have diarrhea. Rarely is their respiratory tract affected. Equine coronavirus typically lasts four to five days and recovery is generally uneventful. Supportive therapies may be used, including administering fluids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories.

Equine coronavirus is spread between horses through the fecal-oral route: a horse must have direct contact with infected feces to contract the disease. Clinical signs typically begin between 48 and 72 hours after exposure; the horse will shed the virus in his feces three to four days after exposure. This may cause horse's feces to test negative for the disease in its early stages. The horse sheds the most amount of disease three to four days after clinic signs begin.

Infected horses generally shed the disease for about three weeks. Asymptomatic shedders can also spread the disease. How long the disease can last in the environment is not known, similar to human coronaviruses. Equine coronavirus is often seen in cold weather, though transmission in warmer months is possible.

Live Racing to Resume at Golden Gate Fields Next Friday

Racing at Golden Gate Fields is scheduled to resume Friday, Jan. 15.

“After extensive testing in collaboration with the Berkeley Public Health Division, it has been determined that the COVID-19 concerns on the campus have decreased to levels to allow the resumption of live racing,” a statement from 1/ST RACING read.

“Golden Gate Fields is indebted to both the Berkeley Public Health Division and the Alameda County Public Health Department for their assistance and advice during the period of temporary closure. As the Golden Gate Fields Racing Office remains closed for in-person business, entries will be taken via telephone for racing on Friday, January 15 on Tuesday, January 12.

As part of the continued COVID-19 safety protocols in place at Golden Gate Fields, we are unable to allow owners to attend training or live racing as we begin this meet. We will continue to monitor this situation and will update the Thoroughbred Owners of California of any changes to this policy.”

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