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TRACK UPDATES
RACE TRACK UPDATES
DUE TO COVID-19
by John Moorehouse
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our society—including the world of horse racing.
Slowly, tracks are reopening their doors and getting back to business... albeit in a time when public health also remains a major concern. How are races going to be held, while also keeping participants and fans safe?
Certain tracks recently adopted stringent measures for the horsepeople working at their facilities.
Meanwhile, the following tracks canceled their 2020 seasons:
• Arizona Downs in Prescott Valley, Arizona
• Brown County Fair in Aberdeen, South Dakota • Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale, California • California State Fair in Sacramento, California
Speedhorse reached out to representatives from several tracks that either opened in July or were scheduled to do so in August. We hope this guide is helpful if you plan to get out and attend a horse race near you this summer.
CHIPPEWA DOWNS
(Chippewa, North Dakota) Dates of Meet: Aug. 1-30, 2020
Doug Demontigny, the Racing Manager
at Chippewa, said that facility is taking a four- pronged approach when it comes to providing safeguards for COVID-19 during its 2020 meet.
First, mandatory masks for everyone. Second, marking off the grandstands and other seating areas to require social distancing. Third, temperature screenings—both for those on
the backside of the track and for the public. Finally, Chippewa plans to limit attendance in accordance with guidelines handed down by the Governor of North Dakota, which will cap the number of attendees at 500.
Even with all that, Demontigny discussed the logistical challenges of running a meet in the middle of a pandemic.
“Our local casino/hotel is not open, so we’re running into housing difficulty,” he noted. “That’s a big impact and a big issue.”
Obtaining enough lodging for the participating horsemen is just part of the challenge that Demontigny and other track officials face.
“This COVID thing is so volatile. It’s changed from day to day in our state and it’s still changing day to day,” he said. “It’s just made it
very difficult to make a prediction, even a week or two weeks out. How do we line up the services we need and obligate them to our track?”
The Turtle Mountain band of the Chippewa tribe owns and oversees the track. Demontigny praised the leadership the tribe has provided.
“They’re going to be very aggressive as it relates to our COVID mitigation policies. The tribe is taking a very proactive, conservative stance on this to hopefully keep their population protected.”
Meanwhile, interest is up for the Chippewa meet—a common theme for the tracks that were opening in July and August, likely related to all the schedule changes and cancellations at other tracks due to the pandemic. Demontigny noted that the track planned to stream its races live on Facebook this year, a first for the Chippewa meet.
“We’ve been running a meet since 1990. We have a unique concentration of horse racing interest in our area and on our reservation that has been there for generations,” he said. “That’s what drives the desire to have the races, if at all possible.”
NORTH DAKOTA HORSE PARK
(Fargo, North Dakota)
Dates of Meet: July 17-26, 2020
North Dakota Horse Park opened and wrapped its 2020 meet over the course of two weekends at the end of July. To help keep everyone safe, social distancing was the major point of emphasis.
Trisha Enger, who sits on the board for North Dakota Horse Racing, noted that the goal was to take advantage of the space of the facility in Fargo to provide plenty of opportunity for distancing.
“There’s 100 acres out there,” she said. “We have one barn, the barn we own, occupied by one family and all of their horses. The other barn is the North Dakota State equestrian barn, which we rent. It has over 200 stalls and is very spread out.”
North Dakota Horse Park also installed sanitizing stations and hand washing stations throughout the facility, including at every betting station and teller station. The facility also had installed self-betting kiosks so patrons could make no-contact wagers. All tellers were equipped with face shields and masks, while all servers and food truck workers wore masks and gloves. All those areas were cleaned regularly.
Meanwhile, social distancing marks were placed on the floor and patrons were asked to use available hand sanitizer upon entering the grounds. Fans also were encouraged to provide their own chairs, to increase social distancing from other parties in attendance.
Meanwhile, North Dakota Horse Park supplied masks for riders, jockeys, and trainers. Track officials, such as the paddock judge, stewards, and racing commissioner, were provided both masks and face shields.
ONEIDA COUNTY FAIR
(Malad City, Idaho)
Dates of Meet: Aug. 1-9, 2020
Approval from the health department, county commission, and the mayor of Malad City cleared the way for the 2020 meet to take place as planned.
Todd Thomas sits on the Oneida County Fairboard. He noted that his track’s plan mirrored that used at Weber Downs in Ogden, Utah, which is about an hour’s drive away from Malad City.
“Masks won’t be mandatory, but we’ll ask,” Thomas said. “Same for the grandstands. We will advertise that if you are not feeling well or feel sick, stay home.”
Sanitizing plans included the installation of hand sanitizing stations throughout the facility, as well as cleaning bathrooms and other common areas multiple times a day while also thoroughly disinfecting the paddock. Those in and around the paddock will be asked to wear masks.
Thomas noted that case rates in Malad City, which is almost on the Idaho/Utah border, had remained low – improving the chances of being able to run. Thomas noted interest has been
up for both the futurity and the derby, each of which would have $10,000 added to the purse.
ELKO COUNTY FAIR
(Elko, Nevada)
Dates of Meet: Aug. 29-Sept. 7, 2020
Speedhorse was referred to the Elko County Fair website for information. At press time, the Fairboard still planned to hold the fair, which also marks the 100-year celebration of the event.
“There are no plans to cancel the event but please understand there might be things out of our control we will have to make a decision on, but at this time we are still going forward,” the website said.
26 SPEEDHORSE August 2020