covid-19 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fan Favorite Santa Anita Wall Calendar Available Online Beginning Friday, Dec. 11

One of the most sought-after day-after-Christmas items for decades, limited issues of Santa Anita's traditional wall calendar will be available beginning this Friday, Dec. 11, for a five dollar charitable donation at santaanita.com/calendar. Net proceeds from each donation, after shipping, will go to benefit the Foothill Unity Center. Based in nearby Monrovia, the Foothill Unity Center provides food distribution and many other services to people in crisis in the San Gabriel Valley.

Traditionally given free of charge with paid admission on opening day, Dec. 26, the 2020-2021 calendar, which is themed “Santa Anita Anomalies,” recognizing some of the unusual moments that have helped to make racing at Santa Anita synonymous with great sport, will not be available on-site this year as there is still no public admittance due to restrictions relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

These magnificent full-color calendars will be available online from Dec. 11 through opening day, Saturday, Dec. 26, or the first 5,000 calendars. There is a limit of two calendars per household, while supplies last.

Santa Anita's Winter/Spring Meet will run from Dec. 26 through June 20. Fans can watch all of Santa Anita's live races free of charge at santaanita.com/live and can watch and wager via a variety of ADW platforms, including 1st.com/Bet.

First post time on opening day, Dec. 26, is at 11 a.m. For more information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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Letters to the Editor: Despite COVID, British Racing’s Success

There is much to be negative about with British racing but occasionally we should acknowledge and celebrate success. During this terrible year of Covid, racing’s rulers should be celebrated for what they have achieved and what has been saved.

Our great sport was back behind closed doors and handled the health implications effectively. The stud season took place with mares covered and the business uninterrupted.

The icing on the cake must surely be the remarkable resilience of the Tattersalls sales which ran in Newmarket on their original dates. To the best of our knowledge the December Sales ran without any outbreak of covid amongst the participants.

We should applaud Tattersalls for going the extra mile, the Maktoum family for their support, Government for recognising our importance as an international business as well as a great sport, but most of all our hard-working staff who kept the show on the road.

Well done ITV on spreading the message and pleasures of British Horse Racing. Let us hope that in 2021 the BHA can finally persuade Government that a properly funded industry can be for the benefit of all including bookmakers and the taxpayer.

Yours sincerely,

The Hon Peter Stanley & Simon Marsh
Manager, New England Stud General Manager, Watership Down & Kiltinan Castle Studs

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Veteran Trainer Bob Hess, Sr. Dies of COVID-19

Bob Hess, Sr., who began training in the late 1950s and saddled his last horses in November, passed away Saturday due to the effects of COVID-19. He was 86.

Golden Gate Fields, where Hess was based, was closed in mid-November and is not set to reopen until after Christmas due to a rash of COVID positives. Hess was hospitalized with the virus around the same time the track was closed, eventually released, and then readmitted when his symptoms returned.

According to The Stronach Group, owner of Golden Gate, Hess was born Oct. 10, 1934, and began training in Washington State in the 1950s after serving in the U.S. Army. He was part of the Agua Caliente training ranks in the 1960s and finally moved to Golden Gate in 1971, where he remained based for the past five decades. He was consistently among the Northern California leaders. Hess saddled 1,592 winners from 10,448 starters, with his runners earning more than $17.2 million. His final winner was in an Oct. 29 claimer with 3-year-old Just Like Fred (Ultimate Eagle).

“Our hearts and prayers are with the entire Hess family at this time,” said David Duggan, General Manager at Golden Gate. “To lose a longtime trainer and friend is simply heartbreaking to our entire horse racing family.”

Golden Gate’s Director of Racing, Patrick Mackey, added: “Bob was a wonderful horseman who was always there for his fellow race tracker. His stories were legendary. He was a wealth of knowledge and imparted that knowledge to many over the years. He was a great man and his presence here at Golden Gate Fields will be sorely missed.”

Hess is survived by his wife Maria, to whom he was married for 56 years, and four children: Bob, Jr. (who is also a trainer), Howie, Erica, and Anna. Services are pending.

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NYRA Announces Jockey Protocols for Aqueduct Winter Meet

The New York Racing Association released their COVID-19 health and safety protocols for jockeys during the 2020/21 Aqueduct winter meet, which will open Thursday, Dec. 10 and run through Sunday, Mar. 28.

In order to mitigate risk and reduce the spread of COVID-19, Aqueduct will be closed to riders that are not regular members of the NYRA jockey colony as of Dec. 31. To account for NYRA’s 10-day holiday break from Dec. 21 through December 30, jockeys interested in being included in the regular NYRA jockey colony must contact NYRA for consideration by Dec. 31.

Members of the regular NYRA jockey colony who travel to ride at any other racetrack during the Aqueduct winter meet will be required to provide two negative COVID-19 tests taken within a five-day window in order to return to ride at Aqueduct. Jockeys traveling out of state who have completed the required testing will then be physically isolated in the jockey quarters for three additional calendar days. All COVID-19 testing must be performed in New York state.

In addition to race day safety protocols which include standard health screening and temperature checks, the jockey quarters at Aqueduct have been substantially altered to provide maximum social distancing and reduce density. All areas accessed by jockeys during the regular course of a race day are closed to outside personnel, including credentialed media, and are cleaned and disinfected throughout the day.

Jockeys are not permitted access to the barn area at Belmont Park. Jockey agents must produce a negative COVID-19 test in order to gain access to the barn area. Races will continue to be drawn via Zoom. Valets working in the jockey quarters are not permitted in the barn area.

Live racing during the Aqueduct winter meet will generally be conducted Thursday through Sunday until the end of February with the addition of special Monday cards Jan. 18 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Feb. 15 for Presidents’ Day. Live racing will be held Friday through Sunday through the month of March.

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