Horse Racing

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

10:48 AM ET ESPN News Services The $12 million Dubai World Cup will be postponed until next year, according to an announcement from the Dubai Media Office, a governmental agency. Officials had planned to run the race March 28 without spectators at Meydan Racecourse over concerns about the coronavirus. The Dubai World Cup had been

6:38 PM ET Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — Wells Bayou took an early lead and held off NY Traffic to win the $1 million Louisiana Derby by a head on Saturday in one of the few U.S. sporting events to continue as scheduled amid the coronavirus pandemic. For the 107th running of the major prep

6:49 PM ET William Weinbaum After five closure announcements in the past 48 hours, a track in Sacramento, California, is the last with plans to remain open of the 18 in the United States that had harness racing prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Chris Schick, the general manager of Cal Expo harness racing, told ESPN

Mar 20, 2020 William Weinbaum The only track in the U.S. that is still running harness races during the coronavirus pandemic was turned down by the California Horse Racing Board for a requested schedule change. Cal Expo’s general manager, Chris Schick, told ESPN Monday night the Sacramento track will have to stick with a Friday-Saturday

6:44 PM ET ESPN News Services FREEHOLD, N.J. — A fourth member of a New Jersey family died Thursday from COVID-19. Vincent Fusco died Thursday morning at a hospital in Freehold, NJ.com reported. His death was confirmed by Roseann Paradiso Fodera, an attorney and relative. Fusco’s mother, Grace Fusco, died Wednesday night, hours after another

In the days since the coronavirus pandemic brought America to a standstill, a pastoral sporting scene in Southern California has offered an idyllic atmosphere to overtake apocalyptic thoughts, if only for a moment. “It’s like being at a mountain lake,” veterinarian Jeff Blea said. “Peaceful, serene, holistic. Horses and riders in a beautiful setting, with

9:51 PM ET For the first time since 1945, the Run for the Roses will not take place on the first Saturday in May. Churchill Downs is expected to announce Tuesday morning that the 146th Kentucky Derby will be postponed, sources confirmed to ESPN. It’s the latest iconic American sporting event to be halted by