covid-19 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pennsylvania Casinos Reopen Monday

Pennsylvania casinos have been greenlighted to reopen as of Monday, Jan. 4, rekindling revenue streams that fund Thoroughbred purses in the state.

Governor Tom Wolf announced Dec. 30 that because COVID-19 mitigation efforts have been working to tamp down the spread of the pandemic, he will allow more stringent safety restrictions that went into effect Dec. 12 to expire as planned.

But that doesn’t mean a full-blown opening for the 13 casinos in the state: Mitigation efforts will roll back to what they were on Dec. 11, which still caps casinos at 50% of occupancy. Similar restrictions were also eased for other social activities, like indoor dining, gyms, theaters and high school sports.

Parx and Penn National are the only two Thoroughbred tracks operating in Pennsylvania at this time of year.

“I think that’s really good news. We can go back to getting monies from the casinos, and that’s very important to us,” said Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association President Sal DeBunda in a video message posted to the organization’s website Dec.31.

DeBunda noted owners will still not be able to enter the winner’s circle to pose with their horses, “so it’s not a total open situation, but it’s back to the old rules before the mitigation rules were put in.”

Earlier this week, Penn National had announced a contingency plan to stay open through the month of January based on maintaining a nightly handle benchmark of $1.4 million in the event that Wolf had decided to extend the casino shutdown.

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TVG Premiers Year In Review Special

TVG premiers a special feature Saturday, Jan. 2 which will focus on the impact COVID-19 had on the global horse racing industry. The 2020 retrospective will air at approximately 5:30p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT. To watch a one-minute preview, click here.

Saturday coverage, hosted by Todd Schrupp, Christina Blacker and Britney Eurton, will feature a nine-race card from Santa Anita, highlighted by the GIII San Gabriel S. and the GIII Sham S. The 2020 renewal of the Sham S. was won by Authentic, who went on to win the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Sham offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby points to the top four finishers. The day’s coverage also includes racing from Gulfstream Park, featuring five stakes races, including the Mucho Macho Man S.

For more information on Saturday’s lineup, visit www.tvg.com.

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Horse Exportation Update From Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine

The Irish Government’s Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine has released updated advice for horse movement through Great Britain beginning on New Year’s Day, Horse Racing Ireland announced on Thursday. The new guidelines are intended for those transporting horses and the Trader Notice, which outlines procedures for export certification to Britain from Jan. 1, as well as information on movements to and from France and Northern Ireland, may be accessed here.

The new guidelines are summarized as follows for each equine exporter from Ireland to Great Britain:

Register with DAFM.
Register on TRACES.
Contact DAFM Regional Veterinary Office (RVO) re. export health certificate (EHC)
Arrange examination of equines by Private Veterinary Practitioner (PVP).
Submit PVP certificate to RVO.
Arrange for Great British-based importer to submit advance notification to UK Import system.
Include the Unique Notification Number (UNN) issued by this system to the TRACES EHC consignment details
Complete consignment details on TRACES and submit to RVO.
Forward scan of completed, signed and stamped certificate via GB-based agent to GB import system.
Ensure signed EHC accompanies horse to GB.

Finally, those moving horses should also register with Revenue and fulfil customs requirements around each horse movement. More details are available on HRI’s updated Brexit Guidance from Dec. 18- www.hri.ie/Brexit. In addition, the Irish Government is extending the ban on travel from Britain until Jan. 6 and HRI also extends its advice that no Irish-trained horses or jockeys should travel to Britain for competition or vice-versa during this travel ban.

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BHA’s Nick Rust to Receive New Year’s Honours

British Horseracing Authority Chief Executive Nick Rust will be honoured with an OBE for his service to the sport of horse racing. Rust steps down from his post on Jan. 1. He has served in his position for nearly six years and dealt with a range of issues, including changes to the Levy, presiding over a review of buying/selling bloodstock, the increasingly important improvements to horse welfare, increasing diversity and inclusion in the sport of horse racing in the UK and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Jumps jockey Bob Champion was awarded a CBE for his charitable services to prostate and testicular cancer research. Approximately £15 million has been raised by the Bob Champion Cancer Trust since it was founded in 1983. Champion recovered from cancer and later won the Grand National on Aldaniti (GB) (Derek H {GB}) at Aintree in 1981.

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