As a result of the Provincial State of Emergency declared on April 7 by the Government of Ontario, which includes a province-wide 28-day stay-at-home order effective Thursday, April 8, at 12:01 a.m., Woodbine Entertainment announced that the 2021 Thoroughbred Meet at Woodbine Racetrack has been postponed. The stay-at-home order was recently extended to May 20, and Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson told the Toronto Sun he is “frustrated beyond belief” with the lack of action by the provincial government.
Hockey, an indoor sport conducted in a confined space, is allowed to continue in Ontario at this time, but horse racing, an outdoor sport conducted in the open air, is not.
Additionally, morning training is allowed to continue at Woodbine, but racing is not. The same workers are needed for afternoon racing, so there is not an increased risk of infection/transmission.
“Horse racing people are pleading with me to give them a thread of hope so they can go back to their owners and say, ‘I talked to Jim. It looks like we’re going to be able to race.’ But I can’t give them that assurance or hope because, quite frankly, I’m tired of giving people hope,” Lawson told the Toronto Sun. “I’ve had good discussions (with the province and Toronto Health) but nothing seems to be happening. I’m banging my head against the wall. I don’t even know where to turn anymore. It’s not like I’m not having the right discussions with the right people. But someone has to spend an hour – whatever the time is – to go through what we’re doing.”
Read more at the Toronto Sun.
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