After all, with the complicated developments of COVID-19, Oaklawn Racing and Gaming decided to reschedule the Arkansas Derby 2020 to May 2.
Last week, Churchill Downs officials planned to relocate the Arkansas Derby 2020 to September 5 out of concern for the COVID-19 epidemic. However, last Friday, Oaklawn Racing and Gaming made an official announcement that the race will be held on May 2 and run by Kentucky Derby.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Committee has also formally approved this change. Although the budget used to organize the race will be reduced from $1 million to $750,000, the Run for the Roses will still award 100 qualifying points to the winner. For the four fastest finishers, they will be awarded a total of 170 points.
This change is in stark contrast to Oaklawn’s move. While the government has ordered a shutdown of all gaming venues, casinos, sports tournaments, and fun gatherings, Oaklawn continues to play racing games despite the plague.
Talking about this issue, President Oaklawn Louis Cella presented, they will try to deal with the worst possible situations. They will implement strict safety measures to ensure no one is infected.
He also highly appreciated the cooperative relationship and the sense of obedience of the participating riders as well as the Arkansas Racing Commission.
While the Arkansas Derby will move to May 2, the other two Kentucky Derby interfaces will not take place this year.
If the Arkansas Derby were only rescheduled for May 2, the two other Kentucky Derby tournaments would be officially canceled due to the COVID-19 epidemic. These are Sunland and UAE Deriend.
According to the schedule, the Sunland Derby in Mexico has officially started. However, after talking with Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, the New Mexico Racing Commission, and the New Mexico Gaming Control Board, track officials decided to cancel the race.
Although there were no recorded positive cases for COVID-19, they still decided to cancel the match for safety reasons, and this is a move to limit the virus infection at this time.
In addition, on March 28, the UAE Derby will officially take place. The winner will win 100 points. However, the Emirates Racing Authority has also announced to cancel this race due to the complicated developments of the global epidemic.
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