pandemic

Approximately £80 million will be the Levy income for the year that ended on Mar. 31, 2021, the Horserace Betting Levy Board announced on Monday. The figure is a result of provisional submissions to date from most Levy-paying bookmakers. Originally, as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed in the UK, the HBLB had estimated a Levy return between £76-£85 million. Racing in the UK was halted from mid-March until June 1, 2020. HBLB Chairman Paul Darling commented, "There was no British racing for the first two months of the Levy year and...

The card for the 84th GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby produced all-sources pari-mutuel handle of $24,282,400 Saturday. This was the largest Santa Anita Derby day handle since 2007. In addition, fans returned to the Arcadia oval on a restricted basis, with 8,246 on-track for the 12-race program. It was the first time in over a year that fans were allowed back at Santa Anita since the COVID-19 pandemic began last winter. Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) saluted in the day's feature event, the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby for...

Tattersalls Ireland announced the cancellation of the February NH Sale, which had been scheduled for Apr. 7. Despite exploring all possible options to hold the sale safely, Tattersalls Ireland was informed by the Department of Agriculture that staging a bloodstock sale in Ireland while facing the continuing effects of the pandemic would not be permitted. Lots catalogued for the February NH Sale will now be offered in conjunction with the yearling section of the November NH Sale. "We explored every avenue to hold the sale and to offer vendors the...

The Tattersalls Ireland May Store Sale has been rescheduled for Wednesday, July 14. Tattersalls Ireland has taken this step due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and prevailing travel restrictions. The Tattersalls Ireland Select July Store Sale is slated for Thursday, July 15, and the remaining stores will be put under the hammer at the Tattersalls Ireland August NH Sale on Aug. 10-11. At this time, inspections for the various store sales are almost complete, and the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale remains as scheduled on June 23-24. "Naturally...

Based on increasing vaccine availability and declining COVID-19 numbers, The Stronach Group and TOC outlined new protocols at Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields to allow licensed owners more access to the grounds. SANTA ANITA PARK Mandatory Santa Anita protocols, including social distancing (a minimum of six feet), face cloths covering your nose and mouth, health screening, temperature check and wrist banding will continue to be enforced for everyone entering Santa Anita, including the Stable Area. Winner's Circle After each race, the winning horse will be brought into the...

The 2020 racing season was fraught with many challenges, largely due to the coronavirus pandemic, and halted racing in New York for about three months, continuing to wreak havoc with on-track attendance at many of the nation's racing venues throughout the remainder of the year. And while for many it was a time of turmoil and struggle, it proved to be a banner season for Wachtel Stable, campaigning not one but two Eclipse champions in 2020--Vequist (Nyquist, Champion Juvenile Filly) and Channel Maker (English Channel, Champion Turf Male). "Unfortunately, I...

The Pennsylvania Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (PHBPA) met with the management of Penn National Dec. 28 to come up with a contingency plan to keep racing going through January using purse money already "on deposit" in the event that Governor Tom Wolf's COVID-19-related closure of Penn's Hollywood Casino extends past the currently mandated Jan. 4. date. "Penn National has agreed to continue live racing through [January], provided the handle generates a break-even scenario for the company," Todd Mostoller, the PHBPA's executive director, wrote in a one-page memo to members...

Stemming from the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the reduction of live racing, and California's statewide increases in workers compensation costs, Post Time Self Insurance will institute a 10% increase, paid by both owners and trainers, to offset the shortages of the horse industry's workers compensation program covering jockeys and backstretch workers. Owners and trainers fund the majority of program costs via per-stall charges from trainers and race per-start fees from owners. The owners' per-start fee will be raised from $149 to $162, effective Jan. 1, 2021....

By the time Turf Paradise opens Jan. 4 for Arizona's first live Thoroughbred racing since March 14, track management projects the horse population could top 1,200 for the five-day weekly, 84-date meet that runs through May 1. Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia said during the Dec. 10 Arizona Racing Commission meeting that 664 horses are currently stabled on the grounds, adding that "I expect by the end of the month that that figure is probably going to double." Francia explained that Turf Paradise is the recipient of a mixed...

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to bypass this weekend's stakes action at Los Alamitos, according to the DRF's Steve Andersen Friday. "I don't have any symptoms," he told DRF. "I'll have to wait a few days and test again. Hopefully, I'll be back up for the following week. I'll watch a little Netflix." Smith, whose positive was determined following a test at Santa Anita Friday, was scheduled to accompany Astute (Speightstown) in Saturday's GI Starlet S. and Proud Emma (Include) in Sunday's...

The Organizacion Sudamericana de Fomento board--in conjunction with LONGINES--announced the 2021 renewal of the Longines Gran Premio Latinoamericano and Longines Cup, will be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for this spring, the event will now be staged Sunday, Oct. 24th 2021, at Hipódromo Nacional de Maroñas, Uruguay.

It's the baby I can't get out of my mind, try as I might. Maybe you feel it shouldn't have been out at all, on such an evening and in such a place: sitting there in its diaper, on a table, under the adoring smiles of the good-looking couple who had brought it into the raucous bar. But then the infant looked very much at home, alternately raising a glass of bourbon and a cheroot to its lips. Only in L.A.; only on Halloween. On closer inspection, of course, the...