Page 19 - September 2020

Here’s the latest on what other tracks are doing or have planned with regard to running their 2020 meets during the COVID-19 pandemic.
TRACK UPDATES
Wyoming Downs, Evanston, Wyoming (concluded its meet Aug. 16)
Looking back, now that the dust has settled, Judy Horton isn’t quite sure how Wyoming Downs pulled off its most successful meet in years in the middle of a pandemic.
“This whole thing is just crazy; I can’t believe that we got through it,” said Horton, the Public Relations & Events Coordinator for the Wyoming track.
Horton noted a full barn and full fields for 10- race cards during the 14-day live meet. Wagering also increased, with the live handle matching and often surpassing totals from the previous year.
“I can’t remember the last time we had a full backside,” Horton said. “There were no stalls to be had; that’s about 750 stalls. Maybe they weren’t on the premises throughout the week but on the weekends, with the haul-ins, we were full.”
Facemasks were required for jockeys and trainers. Masks were encouraged and everyone at the track had to undergo a daily temperature check and various track amenities had plexiglass barriers installed: everywhere from the ticket booth to concessions to the horsemen’s bookkeeper.
“The first two weeks, our horsemen really struggled with our protocol on face masks,” said Horton, who noted many of the horsemen arriving had been at fair meets in Utah and Idaho that didn’t have the same protocol. “We didn’t have one person with a high temperature. We checked every employee, every fan.
“It’s almost surreal that we got through this without any problems,” she said, adding, “It was a really good meet, but I can’t tell you that it wasn’t scary. We held our breath all the way through.”
Unlike other tracks, Wyoming Downs ownership and management ran with fans and was determined to do so, according to Horton. The track operated with 50% occupancy limits for spectators.
“What makes this racetrack work is, we do gear to the fans,” Horton said. “I want the world to know now if we had not had the support of Uinta County and the town of Evanston... if those people hadn’t gone to bat for us and supported us the way we did when we requested our variance from the governor and the state health officer, I do not believe we would have got to run.” Wyoming Downs also hosted Indian Relay Racing and a car show during closing weekend.
Turf Paradise, Phoenix, Arizona • Cancelled
A 121-day meet set to begin in October and run into the new year was canceled by track ownership in August. Citing liability, track owner Jerry Simms broke the news via teleconference with the Arizona Racing Commission. COVID-19 has been extremely widespread in Arizona, with positive testing rates peaking as high as 25 percent.
Other tracks that have canceled their 2020 meets include:
Elko County Fair in Elko, Nevada (plans to run in 2021)
Eastern Idaho Fair in Blackfoot, Idaho (plans to run in 2021)
Emerald Downs, Auburn, Washington (running through Oct. 18)
Fans remain absent from the grandstands
at Emerald Downs, with masks required from horsemen, staff, and media in attendance and social distancing measures also in place. With only essential staff on site in addition to trainers, jockeys, and owners, the track is doing its best to run a “normal” meet during abnormal times.
“We had safety protocols immediately put into place,” track president Phil Ziegler told the Tacoma News Tribune. “They did a great job of staying healthy, social distancing, wearing masks. We had something to go on, because there were
a lot of states that didn’t shut down. Racing
was the only sport that kept going through the pandemic, with closed grandstands in Florida, Arkansas, and California.”
As one to the first states where a COVID-19 outbreak occurred in the U.S., Washington had fairly stringent measures in place to combat
the pandemic and the track had to structure its precautions accordingly.
“We had a lot of communication with the governor’s office and racing commission to the point where we got everything approved to where we can safely put on horse racing,” Ziegler told the newspaper.
Even the normal schedule changed. Usually running on weekends, Emerald Downs is holding races on Wednesdays and Thursdays this year.
Will Rogers Downs, Claremore, Oklahoma (opens Sept. 12)
In advance of their fall Quarter Horse meet, officials at Will Rogers Downs have released a full and detailed set of policies for staff, participants and guests that follows all sanitation and distancing guidelines, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The most noteworthy of these is for jockeys, who must be in the state of Oklahoma for a
minimum of 14 days before participating in a race. Each jockey also must provide a letter from their physician stating they are approved to work.
These policies include:
• Limiting the number of individuals in the
racing office or Oklahoma Horse Racing
Commission office at any one time
• Requiring masks or facial coverings on the
track, in the jockeys’ room, and in the paddock
for trainers, jockeys, and track personnel • Temperature screenings each day of staff,
vendors, horsemen, and guests
• Social distancing is strongly encouraged
Zia Park, Hobbs, New Mexico (Status TBD)
Even though racing has happened elsewhere in New Mexico at Ruidoso and Albuquerque, the 2020 Zia meet was in doubt at press time. Scheduled to begin Sept. 21, a teleconference involving the New Mexico Horsemen’s Association and executives from Zia Park
noted the uncertainty stemmed from the state government not confirming whether racetrack casinos would be allowed to open.
Lone Star Park, Grand Prairie, Texas (opens Sept. 4)
After having to close and postpone live racing back in July when an employee tested positive
for COVID-19, Lone Star Park is back open and recently announced its Quarter Horse schedule for the 2020 meet—while also revealing a major increase in purses to an average of $175,000 per day, not including stakes races.
Lone Star Park has a detailed COVID-19 list of policies on its website, including the following: • Required facial covering for all guests aged two
and up, except when eating and drinking
• Free admission and suspension of reservations • First-come, first-serve seating in
the grandstands
• Temperature screenings for all fans, employees,
and horsemen
• Enhanced cleaning and disinfecting practices • Social distancing strongly encouraged
Cassia County Fair, Burley, Idaho (Aug. 21-22)
Looking to uphold a 110-year tradition, Cassia County in Idaho held its annual fair in August, with a 2-day horse racing meet as one of the events. Social distancing and masks were strongly encouraged, with hand disinfectant available at dispensers throughout the facility and fairgrounds. Masks were offered for those who did not have one—and all participants and attendees were required to sign a waiver releasing the county and the Fairboard of liability.
SPEEDHORSE September 2020 17