THE GRAND NATIONAL STEEPLECHASE in Butler, Md., scheduled for April 18, has been cancelled.
Senior Senator, winner of the 2019 Maryland Hunt CupTHE MARYLAND HUNT CUP in Glyndon, Md., scheduled for April 25, has been cancelled.
Although there has so far not been any announcement from MY LADY'S MANOR, scheduled for April 11, it is likely to also be cancelled.
THE GRAND NATIONAL FESTIVAL in Aintree, England, schedule for April 2-4, has been cancelled.
LAUREL PARK'S stable area will be closed to horses other than those based at Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, effectively immediately.
Shippers will not be permitted, and any that had been entered for the programs of Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, at Laurel Park will be scratched.
The decision is part of a series of precautionary and safety measures put in place by the Maryland Jockey Club and Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association given the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.
Laurel Park is scheduled to offer an 10-race card March 20 and an 11-race card March 21 with access severely limited to essential racing personnel only. Owners will not be permitted to MJC facilities including the stable area.
MJC closed Laurel Park to patrons effective March 13, and that policy continues.
NYRA has suspended live racing at Aqueduct Racetrack until further notice due to changing circumstances in the racing community relative to the coronavirus.
A backstretch worker who lives and works at Belmont Park tested positive Thursday morning for the coronavirus. Following NYRA’s Preparedness and Response Plan, the worker has been quarantined since developing symptoms the morning of Friday, Mar. 13. His roommate was also quarantined at that time.
