Re:Re:Press release COVID 19

MEDIA RELEASE
SUBJECT: Racing and the coronavirus
DATE: Monday 16 March 2020
RELEASED ON BEHALF OF: Phumelela Gaming and Leisure, Kenilworth Racing, Gold Circle, the Racing Association, the National Horseracing Authority and the Thoroughbred Horseracing Trust

In light of the guidelines and restrictions regarding public gatherings as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday 15 March to limit the spread of the coronavirus, Phumelela Gaming and Leisure, Kenilworth Racing, Gold Circle, the Racing Association, the National Horseracing Authority and The Thoroughbred Horseracing Trust have unanimously agreed to implement the following Protocols and Procedures with immediate effect:
1. Racing to continue, but with no public attendance on course
From Tuesday 17 March, all race meetings will be closed to the public until further notice. Consequently, the Joburg Prawn Festival at Turffontein scheduled for 4 April and the Klawervlei raceday scheduled for Durbanville on Saturday 28 March are cancelled, although the race meetings at which they were scheduled will take place.
Only essential racing participants will be allowed access to racecourses on race days. These include owners, trainers, jockeys, grooms, officials and staff deemed necessary to host a race meeting safely and successfully.
2. Access control to be strictly adhered to and facilities for participants to be limited
Access points to racecourses will be limited, as will hospitality venues for participants allowed at racecourses on raceday in order to strictly comply with the guidelines and restrictions imposed.
3. Sanitization measures to be put in place
Hand sanitizer, accompanied with the necessary signage and instructions, will be made available to all racing participants allowed on course.
The same sanitization measures will be applied at training centres which will include all grooms. In addition, various restrictive measures to be implemented as a cautionary, as well as potential lockdown procedures, are being put into place in the eventuality of an outbreak at any of the grooms’ accommodation.
4. All non-racing events cancelled
All non-racing events, such as conferences, hosted at the various racecourses across the country will be cancelled with immediate effect.
5. Off Course Betting Outlets
In line with the published restrictions, attendance at all Off-Course Betting Shops will be limited to under 100 persons as required. In addition, sanitization measures will be put in place at all outlets.
Racing fans are encouraged to open online betting accounts instead of placing bets at Off-Course Betting Shops.
6. Government Hotline
Attention is drawn to the government hotline - 0800 029 999 - which provides easy access to important information on the subject.
The Racing Operators reserve the right to deny access to any of their venues to any person displaying Covid-19 symptoms.

French Racing is over

Boris Johnson has just withdrawn medical and police cover from all gatherings in the U.K. and asked people to stay away from, pubs, clubs, cinema and restaurants

Churchill Downs won’t race the Derby to an empty stand - to be delayed.



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Macron orders French to stay at home - and says those who don't will be punished


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The Randox Health Grand National, the world's most famous race, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak as it emerged on Monday night that the whole three-day Aintree meeting will not take place next month.

The challenge facing the UK from a racing "behind closed doors" perspective / option is that Entrance Fees to the various race tracks form a major part of their funding model. As far as I am aware, there no tracks in the UK which allow for free entrance. Clearly Japan and Hong Kong can absorb the losses incurred from a lack of entrance fees and here in South Africa there is no entrance charge in any case. Hopefully we can continue to offer racing "behind closed doors" here in South Africa without interruption but there is obviously no guarantee of that. Racing seems to be proceeding normally in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand and I am uncertain as to what may happen in the USA.

China has reacted angrily to a tweet from President Trump that described the coronavirus as "Chinese".
BBC


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SA I see says 64 cases, pleeeez do us a favor, how many tests have they got?

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MEDIA RELEASE

SUBJECT: Horseracing imposes more coronavirus restrictions

DATE: Tuesday 17 March 2020

RELEASED ON BEHALF OF: Phumelela Gaming and Leisure, Kenilworth Racing, the Racing Association, the National Horseracing Authority and the Thoroughbred Horseracing Trust



After due consideration, the South African horseracing industry has decided to further restrict the individuals who may attend race meetings.

With effect this Thursday 19 March only people indispensable to holding a race meeting will be allowed access to racecourses on racedays. These comprise one trainer representative per stable, jockeys, grooms, officials and a bare minimum of staff.

Unavoidably racehorse owners and spouses, partners, friends and relatives of the essential participants listed above may not attend until further notice.

This latest announcement and the numerous protocols and procedures imposed by horseracing yesterday, are in order to ensure that the industry complies with the guidelines and restrictions regarding public gatherings announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Effectively horseracing and the training of racehorses will be conducted behind closed doors. Access restrictions similar to racecourses are being implemented at training centres, where trainers are requested to ensure that only their staff, farriers, veterinarians, feed merchants, riders and related entities are allowed to enter their premises.

In addition, sanitisation measures are being put in place at all racecourses, training centres and off-course betting outlets, where the number of people may not exceed 100.

All stakeholders are asked to be understanding of these access restrictions and that it is critical to the future of South African horseracing that everything possible is done to keep the sport going at this very challenging time.

Racing in Australia also goes ahead "behind closed doors" - checked the Racing Victoria website last night.