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COVID-19: Local Officials Prohibit Arizona Downs From Racing In 2020

Citing concerns for public safety and new state orders restricting gathering in public places, local officials have prohibited Arizona Downs from opening this racing season.

That decision comes in the wake of the COVD-19 pandemic and after weeks of discussions between track operators and state and local officials. Though there were initial hopes of hosting races without spectators, local officials raised additional concerns about adequate spacing in stables and other back-of-the-house operations.

“We were hopeful we would be able to host racing, but understand and respect their decision,” said Tom Auther, an Arizona Downs owner. “Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our employees, fans, horsemen and jockeys.”

Earlier this year, Arizona Downs applied with the Arizona Racing Commission to host races through September. But after sharp increases in reported COVID-19 cases across the state, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey in late June issued an Executive Order prohibiting the gathering of more than 50 people unless authorized by local officials. Prescott Valley officials recently provided formal notice to Arizona Downs that racing will not be allowed.

“We recognize the many difficult decisions our state and local leaders have had to make in recent months and appreciate them keeping safety at the forefront of all decisions,” Auther said. “We look forward to working with each of them to ensure the safe and successful opening of Arizona Downs in 2021.”

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Thoroughbred Owner Conference Rescheduled For Breeders’ Cup Week In Lexington

OwnerView announced today that the seventh Thoroughbred Owner Conference, originally scheduled to be held July 19-22, 2020, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has been rescheduled and will be held in Lexington, Ky., from November 2-5, 2020, to coincide with the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The Breeders' Cup will be held November 6-7 at Keeneland.

“While we were disappointed that we were unable to host this year's Thoroughbred Owner Conference in Saratoga Springs, we are delighted to be able to bring the owner conference back to Lexington, the 'Horse Capital of the World,' during the week of the Breeders' Cup,” said Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView. “We are thankful for the support and flexibility of the New York Racing Association and the Breeders' Cup.”

The rescheduled owner conference will be held at the Embassy Suites on Newtown Pike in Lexington, Ky. The conference agenda includes nine panels on topics including the economics of racehorse ownership, syndicates, safety reforms, aftercare, and diversity. The conference will open on Monday, November 2, with an evening reception at The Kentucky Castle. Other social events include a conference dinner at the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds and tours of stallion farms.

This year's owner conference will offer a new registration option for virtual attendance. A virtual conference registration enables access to all business panels and the ability to participate in question and answer sessions for those panels.

For guests who attend the owner conference in person, social-distancing protocols will be in place, including limiting the number of guests seated at tables and increased spacing of tables. OwnerView will be continually monitoring the status of COVID-19. If an in-person conference is deemed unsafe, in-person registrations will be refunded or converted to a virtual registration.

For more information about the owner conference, including the full schedule of events and registration, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference.

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

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TVG’s Weekend Coverage Features Racing From Ascot, Del Mar

On Saturday morning, international racing fans can tune into TVG, America's horse racing network, to watch champion Enable (GB) make a bid for a historic third win in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes (GI) from Ascot. The race is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. ET/7:35 a.m. PT.

TVG's Scott Hazelton will be covering the race live from his home in Kentucky. The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes (GI) is part of the “Win and You're In” Breeders' Cup Challenge Series and the winner will earn an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf (GI). The 2020 Breeders' Cup will be held November 6-7 at Keeneland. Enable (GB), the heroine of the 2018 Breeders' Cup Turf (GI), won this race in 2017 and 2019. Trained by John Gosden with regular rider Frankie Dettori in the irons, the six-year-old mare is set to face three rivals from trainer Aidan O'Brien including multiple Group 1 winner Japan (GB).

TVG will be live on site at Del Mar covering a loaded weekend of racing featuring seven stakes races from Friday through Sunday including the $150,000 San Diego Handicap (GII), the $150,000 San Clemente Stakes (GII) and the $200,000 Eddie Read Stakes (GII). There will be expert analysis and exclusive interviews from Todd Schrupp, Mike Joyce and Joaquin Jamie alongside Britney Eurton and Simon Bray who will be contributing to the broadcast remotely. Del Mar has also added a card on Monday, July 27.

The San Diego Handicap (GII) will feature the return of 2019 Eclipse Award winner Maximum Security. The multiple Grade 1 winner will be making his first start since transferring to trainer Bob Baffert and will have Abel Cedillo in the irons for the first time. Maximum Security will face five rivals, including the 2019 TVG Pacific Classic (GI) champion Higher Power, in the 1 1/16 mile contest which is being used as a prep race for the $500,000 TVG Pacific Classic (GI) on August 22.

TVG will also be broadcasting racing from Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Monmouth Park and more all weekend.

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Jockeys To Resume Riding At Del Mar Without Undergoing New COVID-19 Tests

Del Mar's opening day was delayed when 15 asymptomatic jockeys tested positive for COVID-19 on July 14, but the track expects to resume racing operations this Friday. According to the Daily Racing Form, none of those jockeys will be required to present a new, negative COVID-19 test before returning to Del Mar to ride.

“The guidance from the county is you can return to work in 10 days,” track president Josh Rubinstein told the Daily Racing Form, adding that Del Mar is also following the advice of executives with medical advisers Scripps Health and the CDC.

The positive jockeys were instructed to quarantine, and they will undergo individual evaluations by a track physician, Rubinstein said. Jockeys will now be housed in 10-foot by 10-foot portions of the lower level of the grandstand, to allow for adequate social distancing, and current protocols do not allow for jockeys to work horses in the mornings.

Additionally, Del Mar's new house rule is that jockeys accepting rides at other tracks will not be allowed to return to ride at Del Mar through the end of the meet on Sept. 7.

One of the jockeys named to ride at Del Mar will be Hall of Famer Mike Smith, who told the Daily Racing Form that he has tested negative for COVID-19 on 11 different occasions. Smith rode last Saturday at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, winning the G1 Haskell Stakes aboard the Bob Baffert-trained Authentic.

“I was tested in Jersey on Saturday and when I came back here on Sunday,” Smith told drf.com. “I've been blessed to stay healthy so I could keep going. I'm trying to stay extra fit and make fitness a way of life. It's really paid off.”

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