Retama Park Will Remain Open For Training At Least 30 More Days

Training at Retama Park was scheduled to end on March 31, 2020, and horsemen were told they would need to vacate the premises by April 7 due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. This coincides with track owner Penn Gaming’s Monday announcement that it would furlough 26,000 employees on April 1.

However, on Tuesday an agreement was reached between Retama Park and the Texas Horsemen’s Partnership to allow the stable area at Retama to remain open for at least 30 days, according to a post on Twitter from the Texas Thoroughbred Association.

Only horses stabled at the track will be allowed to remain, and all outstanding balances due to Retama must be paid in full by their due date. Any horsemen found to be in arrears on March stall rent beyond April 15 will be required to vacate the premises.

Stabling is for any horsemen stabled at Retama as of April 1, 2020; no new horsemen or horses will be permitted to enter or stable at Retama Park. Dormitory rooms are for any individuals in dormitories as of April 1.

The track surface will be available five days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., weather permitting. Gate training and clockers will be available two days a week.

All policies and procedures currently in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 will remain in effect and will be enforced.

Horsemen/horses that vacated the stable area of Retama after March 26th may be permitted to return with ONLY the horses stabled at Retama as of March 26. However, if such trainer has an outstanding balance owed Retama for January and/or February 2020, that outstanding amount must be paid in full prior to such horses being permitted to return to Retama.

Please be assured that the Texas Horsemen’s Partnership is working diligently to find resources for our horses during this stressful time.

UPDATE ON @RetamaPark:

A deal has been reached to keep the training center open for 30 days.

Thank you to @RetamaPark/Penn Gaming and the Texas Horsemen’s Partnership!

Please read for specifics ⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/EnVvkFKMNy

— Texas Thoroughbred (@TTAtexas) March 31, 2020

Important Texas Horse Racing Update!!

The past few weeks have been tough, but our industry is pulling together to keep things going.

We know there are a lot of questions out there, so please read and share this full post for some important updates.

⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/tde2f1R1R1

— Texas Thoroughbred (@TTAtexas) March 30, 2020