Racing Victoria is awaiting the results of a coronavirus test on jockey Mark Zahra in the hope the suspension on racing can be lifted. Racing was abandoned on Wednesday with only a meeting at Narromine in western NSW going ahead on Thursday. After being contacted by health officials, Zahra alerted… Read More »
Sydney jockeys Hugh Bowman and Tommy Berry have tested negative to COVID-19 after fears they may have been exposed. Racing around the country was suspended on Wednesday after Melbourne jockey Mark Zahra was told by health authorities he had flown on the same commercial flight on March 12 as a… Read More »
Irish authorities believe they are well-equipped to handle any restrictions when racing resumes. Horse Racing Ireland had hoped to continue racing behind closed doors during the coronavirus crisis until the government ordered a shutdown earlier this week in line with Britain. There were 10 meetings held in Ireland after Britain… Read More »
Queensland has joined other states by suspending racing as authorities wait for results of coronavirus tests on a Melbourne-based jockey. Wednesday’s meetings at Sandown in Melbourne, Warwick Farm in Sydney and Ascot in Perth were abandoned mid-program because jockeys from those jurisdictions had been in contact with the the other… Read More »
Australian racing is in limbo pending the results of COVID-19 tests on a licensed participant, believed to be a jockey. Until Wednesday, racing had been the last major sport still standing with meetings conducted under strict biosecurity protocols and without spectators. That changed with Sandown called off after two races… Read More »
Missing a start in the All-Star Mile with Gold Fields forced his trainer Logan McGill to search for alternatives. While Gold Fields did run in a support race on All-Star Mile day at Caulfield on March 14, McGill was already planning an assault on another rich Victorian race, the VOBIS… Read More »
Victorian racing has been suspended pending test results on a licensed person for COVID-19. Racing Victoria called off Wednesday’s Sandown meeting after learning the person had been told by health authorities they were on the same commercial flight on March 12 as someone who has tested positive. The participant is… Read More »
Racing in Victoria and NSW has been suspended with a licensed person, believed to be a jockey, being tested after possible contact with COVID-19. Racing Victoria called off Wednesday’s Sandown meeting after two races when it learned the participant had travelled on the same plane on March 12 as a… Read More »
Trainer Chris Munce is on tenterhooks as he looks to finalise a trip to a big money race in Rockhampton with his promising Eagle Farm winner Papaya. Munce’s apprentice Justin Huxtable had an armchair ride as Papaya ($1.65) cruised to a 4-1/2 length win in the Eva Air Two-Year-Old Plate… Read More »
New Zealand trainer Tony Pike has had a change of heart with three of the stable’s Sydney-based horses and decided to keep them racing. Pike called his two staff members home and sent The Bostonian, Sherwood Forest and Not An Option to a spelling farm believing racing would close down… Read More »
Three-year-old filly Shout The Bar will face the toughest test of her short career when she strives to give the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable its third Group One win in as many weeks in Sydney. Shout The Bar is scheduled to run in Saturday’s Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m)… Read More »
Group One placegetter Luvaluva has run her last race with a tendon injury ending her racetrack career. The John Sargent-trained mare won six of her 30 starts including the 2017 Group Two Wakeful Stakes. In April 2019 she went to New Zealand where she ran third in the Group One… Read More »
Trainers operating stables on the Victorian-NSW border have been banned from crossing state lines despite the green light for their horses to race in either jurisdiction. Wodonga trainer Craig Widdison and his staff cannot cross the border into NSW while his Albury-based counterpart Mitchell Beer cannot venture into Victoria. But… Read More »
In an effort to restrict the distance trainers, jockeys and officials have to travel, a regional Victorian race meeting has been transferred. Monday’s meeting at Mildura in northwest Victoria has been transferred to Swan Hill. RV already has in place stringent biosecurity measures in a bid to keep racing going…. Read More »
Leading Brisbane trainer Robert Heathcote believes racing is in a unique position in times of crisis. Racing officials around Australia are facing daily problems to keep the sport going during the coronavirus chaos. Heathcote, who has been a leader for the Queensland industry in several situations in recent years, threw… Read More »
The annual Australian Easter Yearling sale in Sydney will be held online with restrictions now in place over auction houses. The government has introduced stricter coronavirus containment protocols limiting gatherings. Sales company Inglis had previously put limits in place on attendance but on Wednesday said it was reviewing the process… Read More »
Leading owner Linda Huddy’s commitment to chasing top bloodlines continues to reap benefits with horses such as smart two-year-old Snappy Reply. The filly will step up to city company for the first time in the QTIS Two-Year-Old (1200m) at Doomben on Saturday. There are few better-bred horses than Snappy Reply… Read More »
Caloundra trainer Stuart Kendrick hasn’t given up on Eric The Eel making it to the ATC Australian Derby. Kendrick was forced to cancel a tilt at the Group Two Tulloch Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday with Eric The Eel because of difficulties getting him to Sydney. There were no restrictions… Read More »
Star fillies Funstar and Probabeel will continue their rivalry in the Group One Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill which has attracted a field of 13. The meeting is set to go ahead behind closed gates under strict coronavirus protocols. The Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) for three-year-old fillies is one of… Read More »
Bookmakers are holding their breath as the billion-dollar sports betting industry also feels the pinch of the devastating coronavirus pandemic. As global sporting events grind to a halt so too do opportunities for punters to splash their cash, leaving bookies reeling from the fallout and scrambling to identify novel alternatives… Read More »
