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COVID-19: Indoor Dining Rooms, Concessions Closed For Remainder Of Churchill Downs Fall Meet

In accordance with the Commonwealth of Kentucky's most recent health and safety requirements issued on Wednesday, Nov. 18, all indoor concessions, dining rooms, the Turf Club, the Roses Lounge, private suites and inter-track wagering in the Aristides Lounge and Champions/Gold Rooms will be closed for the remainder of the fall meet. All current ticketholders will be refunded.

Reserved outdoor box seats remain open with proper social distancing at limited capacity per the state's requirements for venues and event spaces. First floor reserved box seats will be sold at general admission pricing for $5 ($7 on Friday and Saturday). Third floor box seats are $12. Tickets may be purchased online at https://www.churchilldowns.com/tickets/. Children 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Parking is available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis.

Temperature checks, physical distancing and mandatory face coverings are required upon entrance and movement within Churchill Downs.

Guests will be able to purchase limited food and beverage from concession stands located outdoors on the ground level. No food and beverage is allowed inside spaces of the track or indoors, including the second floor Clubhouse. Additionally, guests are not permitted to bring food and beverage into the facility.

Wearing cloth face coverings at all times is required when not actively consuming food or beverage; simply holding a beverage or food item does not constitute actively consuming.

Following the conclusion of the race meet on Sunday, Nov. 29, Churchill Downs will remain closed for simulcast wagering through Dec. 13, which is expiration date of the latest executive orders.

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Government ‘Lockdown’ Forces Early End To Woodbine’s 2020 Race Meet

As a result of the Government of Ontario's announcement on Friday that Toronto will be entering the Province's grey “Lockdown” phase of coronavirus-related restrictions, Woodbine Entertainment announced that Sunday, Nov. 22, will be the last day in 2020 of Thoroughbred racing in the Province.

“We have been, and continue to be, extremely supportive of the Government's efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout our Province and appreciate the many difficult decisions they have to make,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. “We have approached the Government to explain the impacts this decision will have on our business and the horse racing industry in Ontario. With a better understanding of our operations and based on our safety record in operating live racing at our racetracks, we hope that the Government will consider these impacts in the future and assist us in managing the potentially devastating impact to horsepeople and animal welfare this early shutdown will cause.”

The cancelled race cards (12) at Woodbine Racetrack represented a significant opportunity for horsepeople to earn purse money that is critical for their livelihoods and the welfare of their horses as they enter the off-season for Thoroughbred racing in Ontario.

“Our organization's sole mandate is to sustain the horse racing industry that supports the livelihoods of 20,000 families throughout the Province,” mentioned Lawson. “Woodbine Entertainment is the engine of that industry and this early shutdown further impacts our business.”

Woodbine Entertainment has approximately 1,300 employees either temporarily or permanently laid off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This shutdown of racing also negatively impacts the approximately 2,000 horsepeople on the Woodbine backstretch, putting many of them out of work.

The recent “Lockdown” restrictions prohibit live racing although do allow for training to continue; however it is expected that training will be wound down this week.

“Since we started racing at Woodbine and Mohawk Park in early June, we have demonstrated that racing without spectators poses no greater health risk to participants than training,” said Lawson. “We have been a leader in health and safety since the beginning of the pandemic and we are extremely proud of our record and the cooperation of our racing participants in maintaining safe racing environments.”

Woodbine Entertainment will provide further updates on Monday regarding the closure of the season at Woodbine Racetrack.

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More Than 200 Workers At Golden Gate Fields Test Positive For COVID-19

A joint statement from Golden Gate Fields and the City of Berkeley Public Health released on Friday night revealed the extent of the COVID-19 outbreak among workers that forced the Northern California track to suspend racing operations on Nov. 13. A second announcement said racing would not resume before early December. The meet is scheduled to end Dec. 13 and reopen the day after Christmas, Dec. 26.

The joint statement indicated that more than 200 people living or working at the Bay Area track have tested positive for COVID-19. It's believed the backstretch community includes about 500 workers employed by approximately 75 trainers. The number of front-side personnel is not known.

The Golden Gate Fields stable area is located in Berkeley, with the racetrack and grandstand in the city of Albany.

Berkeley Public Health required mandatory tests for all workers when an outbreak among stable area employees became evident last week and racing operations were paused.

Joint statement from Golden Gate Fields and Berkeley Public Health:
City of Berkeley Public Health continues to work closely with Golden Gate Fields on a significant outbreak where more than 200 people living or working on-site at the racetrack have tested positive for COVID-19. 1/ST Racing, which operates the track, is following all of the City's recommendations for testing, quarantine and isolation. The steps they have taken include the following:

Every person living or working on-site has been tested and additional testing will be done.

All those who have tested positive are isolated off-site, following federal, state and City guidelines. The track is assisting with off-site housing for those who have tested positive and has arranged for twice daily food delivery to ensure that those individuals do not have to leave isolation and have the essential items they require.

Golden Gate Fields' on-site medical director, an infectious disease expert, is providing medical consultation to those who live and work at the racetrack.

For those close contacts who have tested negative but still need to quarantine for 14 days, the track is providing daily food delivery and access to medical support as well as the means to safely quarantine, including additional bathrooms and handwashing stations.

Golden Gate Fields continues to implement health and safety measures including, strict social distancing, masking policies and regular COVID-19 testing with isolation requirements for any positive cases or identified close contacts.

Both Berkeley Public Health and 1/ST Racing will be closely monitoring the situation to follow all local, state and federal guidelines. Should testing identify more cases, further investigation and tracing will be done by Berkeley Public Health and additional isolation and quarantine will be required.

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COVID-19: Woodbine Seeks Clarification On Ontario Premier’s Lockdown Order

Woodbine Entertainment issued a statement Friday saying it was “working to understand the implications” of an order issued by Ontario Premier Doug Ford that put the Toronto and Peel Regions of the province in a strict lockdown under the government's color-coded system developed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Woodbine is located in the Toronto Region in the city of Etobicoke.

According to Ontario's COVID-19 response system – with five colors ranging from green for prevent to grey for lockdown – horse racing will not be permitted (though training can continue) when the “grey” lockdown goes into effect on Monday, Nov. 23. The new measures are expected to last a minimum of 28 days, through Dec. 21. The Woodbine meet is scheduled to close Dec. 13.

“The situation is extremely serious and further action is required to avoid the worst-case scenario,” Ford said when announcing the measures. The order also closes restaurants, non-essential retail stores, meeting and event spaces, and indoor sports and fitness centers. Outdoor gatherings are limited to 10 people.

Woodbine issued the following statement after the lockdown order: “Since the beginning of our province's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, our commitment to public safety has not wavered. We are extremely supportive of the Government's efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout our community. Furthermore, we are very proud of our safety record at Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park in this regard.

“To that end, we are currently working to understand the implications this recent news will have on Thoroughbred racing at Woodbine Racetrack and the thousands of people it supports throughout the province.

“We will provide further updates at the appropriate time.”

Racing will be conducted on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's “super Saturday stakes program” features three graded stakes and kicks off at 1:25 p.m. ET.

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