Farms Soldiering On Amid Pandemic

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has wreaked havoc on the Thoroughbred racing industry, causing the cancellation of racing in at least Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, while numerous other nations and jurisdictions are hanging on by a thread while continuing to race without spectators.

A shining light for the Thoroughbred industry during this dark time has been that the breeding business has soldiered on largely uninterrupted, save for a few added biosecurity measures and staffing considerations. This is a huge relief during a crucial time for the business, and seemingly one known factor amidst a plethora of uncertainties.

Another known factor is that what we do know is in constant flux; the virus is moving quickly, and government regulations are tightening by the day. Julian Dollar, general manager of Newsells Park Stud, said the farm's day-to-day operations at this time are largely unfazed, but said he fears the repercussions if restrictions are placed on moving horses between farms.

“We're not hugely affected now, but what will affect us is if we can't move horses around to be bred,” he said. “That would be very, very serious. It would affect us if we can't move our horses between the UK, Ireland and France and back again, but not as badly as if we couldn't move our horses off the stud. That would really affect us, although [Newsells resident stallions] Nathaniel and Equiano would then end up covering very nice books.

“The worst-case scenario would be a complete restriction on the movement of horses. If that happened, that would cause chaos. That would have a big impact.”

“That is a major concern, and it's been an often-asked question,” said Liam O'Rourke, Darley's director of studs, stallions and breeding based in Newmarket, on the fear of a restriction of movement of horses. “In this country there's no word of it happening just yet, but this will come under greater scrutiny as the crisis deepens.”

O'Rourke said he has seen a push from mare owners from Ireland and continental Europe to get their mares into the UK earlier than normal. Dollar noted he had successfully shipped a pair of mares to France on Tuesday morning.

“There is a far greater awareness now to get horses moved with the possibility that borders might be closed in the coming weeks,” O'Rourke said.

It is impossible to foresee what future regulations will come, but Dollar reasoned that if the nearly complete cancellation of racing in Europe-nearly unimaginable weeks ago-has happened so swiftly, nothing can be ruled out.

“The government has an extremely difficult job to find the balance between letting businesses continue and stopping the economy from crashing completely and trying to control the spread of this virus,” he said. “It's not an easy decision and I'm glad I don't have to make those decisions, but racing has obviously stopped in the UK until May. Once these things have been put on hold it's always hard to put them back on again without really good evidence to know you're safe to do so, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that stretch [to restricting movement of horses between farms]. If you think about the reasons why racing is stopping, there must be a risk. They must feel people are moving around for something that isn't really necessary. If they're saying bars and restaurants should be closed, at what point do they say, 'it's not necessary for you to transport that mare to that stallion?' Hopefully it won't happen, but I could see that as the next step down the ladder.”

Studs Farms Well Placed

As we await the unknown, day-to-day life on the studs continues, with a few extra biosecurity protocols in place. Stud managers across Britain and Ireland acknowledged that a Thoroughbred nursery during breeding season is generally already well equipped to deal with heightened sanitary needs.

“A lot of stud farms would be pretty well placed for that sort of thing in the first place,” Dollar said. “I said to the guys today, 'imagine we had an EHV outbreak. How would we be dealing with this?' We'd be taking it up 10 times the level we are for coronavirus with isolating barns and such. We've been in the unfortunate situation of having dealt with that in the past, so we know what we have to do and we're well placed for it. We have foot baths at every barn anyway irrespective of what's going on because it's just good protocol. We have several hand sanitizers in each barn for the simple reason that we think washing your hands when dealing with horses is good management. Those sorts of things have made life a little easier; there's not a big culture shock.”

Irish National Stud Chief Executive Officer Cathal Beale said, “We're very much used to working cleanly and disinfecting and washing our hands and using the correct protocols. It's just being sensible and making sure everyone is safe.”

Adhering to government protocols was also a widely shared sentiment.

“We're especially following the government guidelines as far as we can-social distancing, washing of hands,” Beale said. “Any horse box that arrives into the covering shed or the foaling unit, we're insisting the drivers stay in the horse box. We're doing everything we can to limit the amount of contact between people. We've told everybody that if anybody shows any signs the virus whatsoever, there is a procedure there for them to tell us and self isolate if that's what their own GP advises.

“It's really following the advice of the health services executives in Ireland and making sure everyone stays safe, while at the same time recognizing that we have a serious duty of care to the animals and to make sure that we can maintain the quality of service to the very highest standards that we're used to.”

“We're used to being friendly,” Beale acknowledged. “We're used to shaking hands and having a cup of tea and having a chat. But in the interests of the bigger picture I think everyone understands the importance of this and we have to play our role.”

Dollar said Newsells Park has likewise asked visitors to its covering shed to not leave their vehicles.

“We prefer the guys not come out of their vehicles and into the shed even to view the covering,” he explained. “We've advised breeders, if they can, to leave the foal at home and bring the mare on its own. That's somewhat alien to UK breeders; it was something I got introduced to when I ran Castleton Lyons [in Kentucky]. Initially I thought, 'oh my god, you can't do that.' And I quickly learned it was a great way of doing things because the foal wasn't exposed to a breeding shed that potentially has diseases and infections, and the mare was much more relaxed when she arrived at the shed because she wasn't thinking about her foal around her.

“We've been doing it this way for 14 years since I arrived back from the States, and touch wood I've never had an accident with a mare or a foal. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to breeders.”

Cheveley Park Stud Managing Director Chris Richardson said his operation is following a similar protocol.

“Being a walk-in farm, when the mares and foals come in nobody is allowed off the horse boxes,” he said. “We have staff to collect the mare and foal and bring them into the covering yard and return them to the horse box. We make sure all our staff are well suited and we don't allow any viewings of the matings from our viewing gallery; that's closed.”

Cheveley Park has added some sanitation-minded measures to its staffs' routines.

“We've had to introduce a risk assessment on the COVID-19 disease,” Richardson said. “We're following government guidelines and we have all the precautions that I'm sure most sensible people have like foot dips, hand washing facilities, overalls. Our congregating areas have been moved outside, so now when the teams meet up in the mornings in each different division they meet outside and then they go about their daily duties. They arrive, wash their hands and we have hand sanitizer everywhere. The staff have been brilliantly resilient. We're potentially very much in the infancy of this whole thing and it's something we're obviously dealing with on a day-to-day basis. It's really just a matter of trying to set it up so we're ready for any eventuality.”

Richardson and Dollar both acknowledged the convenience that much of their workforce lives onsite and that they work in an open-air environment, and they mirrored Beale's sentiment that high standards of care and safety for both horse and human are top priority.

“Staffing wise, we have protocols and contingencies in place and there is some wiggle room if we're down a few members of staff if they have to self isolate,” Dollar said. “Even if we were down a few members of staff, we'd still be able to offer the highest level of care that we could; we wouldn't have to compromise anything.

“Some of the office staff are working from home for their own health and the health of their families. We've set up everyone's computer or laptop at home to be linked to the server in the office so they can work from home. Hopefully we're well-placed, but I have no doubt this is going to get worse before it gets better.”

Richardson said some Cheveley Park office staff members remain in the office while others have chosen to work remotely, and O'Rourke said that Dalham Hall has spread its staff further amongst its offices and restricted canteen times for his farms workers.

Dollar and O'Rourke both expressed that the timing of the pandemic could help ease staff burdens.

“We could probably end up leaving the yearlings out 24/7 now that we're into spring and that wouldn't be the worst thing–although we like to bring our horses in every day and give them a bit of handling,” he said. “But if we had to change anything because of it, that's the sort of thing we'd do.”

“There are a couple things that give us a bit of hope,” O'Rourke said. “It's now almost the end of March and spring is well on its way. We hope the grass will come in time enough to be able to turn out horses such as yearlings early, and that will not put any extra burden on our workforce. We're certainly hoping mares that are far enough along in their pregnancies that they can get turned out, and again that helps matters. I think it would have been a whole lot worse if this was all happening a month ago. It certainly isn't easy, but it's the fear of the unknown. It still could be a nightmare but we're taking it day-by-day and taking all the precautions that we can.”

Stallion Bookings Holding Up

Dollar said he has seen a mild impact on stallion books, but said it is something he expects to balance out.

“A few breeders have said they don't want to breed their mare this year, or they feel uncomfortable shipping the mare over from Ireland because of the situation where they might get stuck over here,” he said. “I think it will have a slight impact but like anything it swings in roundabouts. A breeder here in the UK might not feel comfortable shipping their mare to Ireland or France and therefore might breed to a UK-based stallion instead.”

Richardson said that in some cases breeders have adjusted their plans, but he thinks that is a reaction to the general bloodstock market rather than the pandemic.

“Any impact on bookings, I don't think one could blame the virus,” he said. “I think everybody is taking a long, hard look at their mating plans and their nominations and I think there are a number of people who have sat on their hands this year especially at the lower level and are waiting to see what their mare produces.

“The economic concern that this is going to bring may well mean there is going to be a reduction in business, but most of the mares we've got booked in will be coming. I doubt there will be many people deciding at the last minute to mate their mare; I suspect they'll have to put those funds elsewhere.

“It's very worrying, there are a lot of people whose jobs are in jeopardy and who have mortgages to pay and families to feed, and there is going to be prioritization. With no racing in England now until the end of April and Tattersalls announcing a delay of the Craven and Guineas sales, we'll just have to wait and see. The roads appear to be quieter and I think whilst we have breeders who are breeding their mares, I'm not expecting a huge surge in interest regarding the stallions.”

“You have to be concerned,” Richardson added. “People are being discouraged from going to the pubs around here, going to the theatre, large groups getting together for gatherings–and quite rightly. We really have to treat this disease with respect. I have 32 mares left to foal, and we have 60 on the ground. I want to get through the next three weeks and get most of the foals born [before the pandemic worsens].”

Into The Unknown

All indications are that the pandemic has not yet reached its height in most regions. While government responses have been staggered and have come under mixed scrutiny, Beale said he has been encouraged by Ireland's response.

“I must say the government in Ireland has done a fantastic job in making it clear what the expectations are; the messaging and communication that has come from government has been exceptionally good and very clear,” he said. “We all know what we have to do and when we have to do it. It's a terrible thing for the tourism industry; tourism sites are closed, pubs are closed, restaurants and hotels are headed that way. A lot of people are losing their jobs. There's a huge economic downside to all of this for everybody so we have to try to make sure we're in the position that when this lifts-if we can flatten the curve, as everyone is saying, we can allow our health services to cope on a more even basis. And that will allow us, when the thing does pass over, to get back to normal as quickly as possible and to get everybody back to work as quickly as we can.”

O'Rourke said his team is keeping close tabs on the governments directives and having daily COVID-19 meetings.

“They're changing those guidelines day-by-day,” he said. “We absolutely expect this situation to get tougher and tougher over the coming weeks, and in a month's time it might be an entirely different story than this conversation.

“It's all evolving and there will still be major developments that will have a great impact–a ripple effect–right across the board. We'll just have to keep working diligently if that sort of thing happens: keep those borders open, keep the mares moving and keep restrictions away from movement of animals. If we could get into the latter half of April we'd be a long way to achieving our goals, but I'm nervous of thinking that far ahead.”

Dollar said the gravity of the situation is sometimes still surreal.

“We live in a little bubble, really, here,” he said. “Most of the guys that work on the farm live on site. We live in our own little world, which is I suppose why in some ways it feels so unreal. Here we are today, driving around the stud; it's a beautiful spring day, everything seems right in the world, yet we have this terrible virus that's causing chaos globally.

“In the same way that with breeding horses, you breed the best to the best and hope for the best, in this situation you prepare for the worst and you hope for the best. We're preparing for a worst-case scenario but hoping for the best.”