Page 153 - Speedhorse June 2020

Hipodromo de las Americas located in Mexico City, announced the suspension of horse racing at that track from March 20 and until further notice ‘as events evolve.’ Since the conditions have not changed, the suspension has been extended. There is not yet a date to restart the races, taking into account that the season started on Feb. 8 and the racetrack only operated during six weekends, or until March 15.
We have to consider that in the Hipodromo de las Americas, both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds compete, the latter being the ones that in recent years have shown a significant economic deterioration in all its indicators, unlike the progress observed by the Quarter Horses. Therefore, the effects of the pandemic are expected to be differentiated, exacerbating the crisis in the Thoroughbred sector.
Unofficially, there is information that reopening could happen for the last weekend of June (26-28), provided that the risk of transmission has been reduced from high (red light, as it is currently) to intermediate (orange or yellow), at least. If so, and if authorized by the health and government authorities, it could be held without spectators.
The associations that bring together breeders and owners of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses are ready to readjust their respective calendar of stakes races, which has already been reduced and is likely to suffer another cut. In the case of the Quarter Horse, the original program for 2020 includes 50 stakes. Seven
of them were run and, in a first rescheduling, AMCCCCM cancelled six, with 37 remaining to be contested in six and a half months, if Dec. 13 is maintained as the closing day of the season.
The ravages of this unemployment have already been felt by both horse owners and CODERE’s finances. For the former, particularly the Quarter Horses, the pandemic also closed the ‘valve,’ which means running in match races, thus allowing them in some way to ease the economic burden of costs related to training race horses. The Thoroughbreds have no other option but to compete at the racecourse.
Offers of horses for sale, total or partial withdrawal of horses in training because of
the uncertainty of returning to the racetrack, minimizing staff, veterinary services, farriers, are some of the signs that have been observed in recent weeks.
As for CODERE, the racecourse is one of several businesses that it operates. They will surely evaluate the feasibility and the conditions under which the Hipodromo de las Americas would reopen, in an otherwise complicated economic environment in Mexico and the world. This is relevant because this track is the only official racecourse in Mexico, and owners, breeders, trainers and riders depend upon it in order to compete in an organized way and under international rules.
Marketing of horses by auction:
The Mexican Quarter Horse Association of Breeders and Horsemen and the National Association of Thoroughbred Horses annually organize the sale of horses raised in Mexico, which makes them eligible to participate in futurities and derbies restricted for them at the Hipodromo de las Americas.
Of these events, this is the most important to many breeders due to the number of horses offered for sale and the high value of the
prices for Quarter Horses, which is held at the racecourse itself. For this year, the expected date was to be Aug. 25-27 and which is now being reconsidered for Sept. or Oct. But, it is also contingent on the existence of adequate sanitary conditions and authorizations.
In a depressed economic environment with inflationary pressures increasing costs and the risk of pandemic regrowth, the forecast for the sale is not encouraging.
As far as Thoroughbreds, their auction takes place in November and is practically symbolic, since just a small representative sample passes through the ring. Thus, all are auctioned in one afternoon. For several years this system has been used, which partly reflects the decline of this sector of the equine industry.
Equine reproduction:
The pandemic exploded at the start of the breeding season. The mobility of veterinarians specializing in equine reproduction was limited by the risks of contagion and the campaign to stay at home, especially in places where the pandemic wreaked the greatest havoc. Similarly, unemployment affected the transport of semen through parcel companies and airlines, which involved adjusting the breeding plans of small breeders to opt for stallions available in their region, even if they were not their first choice.
FINAL REFLECTION:
According to scholars on the subject, the world did not face a health situation of this magnitude, since the so-called “Spanish flu”
in the final years of the second decade of
the last century, whose victims numbered in
the millions. The advances in science after a hundred years and the speed with which we
are working to find the medical treatment and vaccine for COVID 19, make us think that we will be far from such proportions of human loss.
Mexico is no stranger to this global tragedy, the scope of which is uncertain at this time. However, everything points to an economic disaster that will last at least the remainder of 2020 and 2021. There are already calculations that 10 million Mexicans will join the ranks of poverty as a consequence. The State of Mexico does not seem to have grasped the magnitude of human losses, nor does it visualize the current and future damage. Thus, this crisis adds to the economic and insecurity that Mexico already suffered.
The equestrian industry has followed the official guidelines in this new environment
and, like many other activities, is suffering
the consequences. Having a single racecourse, located in the most populous city in the country and with the highest number of infected people and deaths puts it at a disadvantage. It will take longer to release non-essential sports activities, such as horse racing, which is a spectator sport where the public and the personnel who work there, and owners from different parts of the country compete periodically.
We trust that the CODERE consortium will come out of this crisis with sufficient capacity to continue operating the Hipodromo de las Américas in the best conditions, and that the breeders, riders and other agents involved will do their part to continue horse racing for both the Quarter Horses and the Thoroughbreds.
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The Hipodromo de las Americas