Yesterday France announced that all racing in that country will be suspended until at least 15 April.
In contrast, it is expected today that Racing NSW CEO, Peter V’Landys will announce that the Autumn Carnival in Sydney will go ahead – but behind close doors.
Oh, and the Japanese runners will not be coming.
Then, finally, this. Today it was announced in the U.S., that by Friday of this week, those who run the Kentucky Derby will announce if it will go ahead on it’s usual date of the first Saturday in May. Which is 2 May this year.
If you ask those who are closely associated with Churchill Downs where the Derby will be around, the organisers are not interested at all in following the Australian lead of racing in front of empty grandstands, or behind closed doors as the official term is.
Which means the races will be put off. Champion trainer Bob Baffert, when interviewed today in California, said he understood the race would be put off until September.
And he will now start to prepare his horses for the race being run then.
Right now, in the long and storied history of the Kentucky Derby, only ONCE before have organisers missed the first Saturday in May date.
That was during World War 2.
