Horse Racing

8:48 AM ET Associated Press British horse racing’s most successful flat trainer of all time is recovering after contracting the coronavirus. Mark Johnston has been isolating since having the symptoms confirmed, and his family says he is making good progress. His son, Angus, told Racing TV “he had a couple of days in bed but

7:02 PM ET Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Scott Chaney has been named executive director of the California Horse Racing Board, replacing Rick Baedeker, who retired last month. Chaney’s appointment was announced Thursday by racing board chairman Greg Ferraro. Chaney has been a steward in California since 2005, serving initially on the Southern California thoroughbred

6:14 PM ET Associated Press The Breeders’ Cup is donating cash to help racetrack backstretch communities affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The Lexington, Kentucky-based organization gave $25,000 to the Race Track Chaplaincy of America. The money will be allocated to help those most in need at various backstretch communities. Breeders’ Cup also donated 4,500 gloves,

1:29 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — A horse broke down after completing a workout at Santa Anita and was euthanized, marking the 11th fatality at the track since late December. M C Hamster, a 4-year-old filly, suffered a fractured left front ankle after a three-furlong workout on the main dirt track Wednesday. It

11:18 PM ET It was a good Saturday for one lucky horse racing bettor, who turned a 50-cent Pick 5 into over half a million dollars. One bettor won the Early Pick 5 — correctly picking the winner of the first five races — of Saturday’s 13-race program at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida,

6:05 PM ET Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Quarter horse trainer Bobby R. Martinez, whose combined earnings over a decades-long career total nearly $13 million, has been hit with a hefty fine and a 34-year suspension for several doping violations. Documents obtained from the New Mexico Racing Commission show the violations involved horses that tested

4:46 PM ET Associated Press Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano has completed his quarantine period that followed a positive test for the coronavirus and has returned to his base in New York. Castellano tested positive for COVID-19 last month as part of a physical mandated by Gulfstream Park to determine if he could be

2:52 PM ET Associated Press Officials say they are working to find a new date for the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown. The Maryland Jockey Club and Stronach Group announced Friday that whenever the Preakness is run in 2020, it will go on without the infield activities that had been

7:32 PM ET Associated Press ARCADIA, Calif. — There was a horse fatality Thursday at Santa Anita, which is temporarily closed for live racing because of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the seventh death at the track since December. According to the California Horse Racing Board website, a 2-year-old filly named Smiling Ali died. She had

5:49 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Another Kentucky Derby prep is off — for now. The Santa Anita Derby, the West Coast’s major prep for the Kentucky Derby, was to be run Saturday. However, it will be postponed until later in the season while Santa Anita remains closed for live racing during the

5:28 PM ET Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The final deadline to nominate horses for the Triple Crown series is being extended indefinitely because of the coronavirus. It was scheduled to be Monday. The extension was agreed upon by officials at Churchill Downs, Maryland Jockey Club and New York Racing Association. The Kentucky Derby has

7:35 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — If there is a Kentucky Derby this year, Tiz the Law will have a shot to be there. And if he runs the way he did in the Florida Derby, he could very easily be a contender. Tiz the Law ran away in the stretch Saturday to easily

4:20 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Santa Anita immediately stopped live racing Friday because of the coronavirus after instructions from the Los Angeles County Health Department. The track in Arcadia, California, was preparing to stage eight races when the cancellation was announced. It’s not immediately known when racing will be allowed to resume.

6:59 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — An executive with the company that owns Santa Anita urged the California Horse Racing Board on Thursday to continue live racing despite a statewide stay-at-home order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Santa Anita in Arcadia, outside Los Angeles, and Golden Gate Fields in the San

2:42 PM ET Associated Press Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano says he has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be in quarantine for two weeks. Castellano, 42, tested positive as part of a physical that officials at Gulfstream Park mandated as a prerequisite before being cleared to ride in Saturday’s Florida Derby. Castellano

7:26 PM ET Associated Press Churchill Downs has suspended the final three racing dates at Turfway Park following Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s “Healthy at Home” executive order out of concern for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Florence, Kentucky, track’s winter meet was scheduled to end Saturday. Turfway’s backside area will remain open because it falls under

3:27 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — The Florida Derby is set to have a full field and empty stands. A field of 12 has been entered for Saturday’s Florida Derby, typically one of the biggest Kentucky Derby prep races and the crown jewel of the Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

7:55 PM ET Associated Press Churchill Downs has delayed reopening stables at its track and training center until April 14 because of public health concerns related to the coronavirus. A decision on postponing the scheduled April 25 spring meet opening will be made closer to that date. The storied track last week postponed the 146th