Gulfstream Park and most of the nation's other horse racing tracks "continued to operate" with "no fans" over the weekend, as pro sports throughout the entire country came to a halt due to the coronavirus, according to Clark Spencer of the MIAMI HERALD. On Friday at the South Florida track, betting windows were shuttered, TVs turned off and the track "installed temporary fencing around the paddock walking ring to block the view" of passersby. Aside from a "handful of trainers, grooms and horse owners allowed to be there, the grandstand apron, where railbirds congregate to cheer on horses in the stretch, was lifeless and silent." Track announcer Pete Aiello's calls were "broadcast as usual over the public address system, echoing off the empty seats." Stronach Group Chief Strategy Officer Aidan Butler said of the circumstances, "It seems like we're the only sport running at the moment." Spencer wrote of all sports, thoroughbred racing "might be the best equipped to sustain business during a pandemic" because tracks such as Gulfstream "derive less than 10 percent of their betting handle from on-site patrons." The vast majority of wagers are "placed from afar." Gulfstream Park handled nearly $1M in bets -- "all of it coming from elsewhere -- on Friday's first race alone." The venue's ban on spectators is "indefinite, and expectations are that its biggest race" -- the Florida Derby on March 28 -- "will be held in front of an empty grandstand" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/14).
Tracks continued racing over the weekend with mainly just trainers, grooms and horse owners in attendanceGETTY IMAGES
OTHER TRACKS: In L.A., Chris Erskine wrote it was a "day of invisible things at Santa Anita Park on Saturday, the first race day the historic track held without any fans." In all, there "might've been 100 folks in attendance Saturday" for a scene that was "spooky and a tad melancholy." Horse owner Rick Palmer said racing without fans is "very strange." However, for once in a very long time, "horse racing was having a moment" (L.A. TIMES, 3/15). In Tampa Bay, Eduardo Encina noted Tampa Bay Downs now "will begin running its thoroughbred racing card without fans." Fans were "still permitted" to attend last weekend's events through yesterday, but when live racing begins on Wednesday, it "will be minus spectators for 'an indefinite period'" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/14).
