Racing News From The Meadowlands

On Friday (May 29), New Jersey governor Phil Murphy announced that horse racing officially had the green light to resume after a pause of more than two months amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Shortly thereafter, officials with The Meadowlands issued the following release on resuming harness racing on Friday, June 5.

The Meadowlands is pleased to announce that Governor Murphy has granted harness racing the opportunity to resume in the state of New Jersey. Our thanks go out to the Governor for allowing all of us to get back to business.

Live racing will return to The Meadowlands next weekend, Friday (June 5) and Saturday (June 6) at 7:15 p.m. with no live attendance. We ask that our fans and those involved with the horses as owners and in any capacity other than those essential to the function of racing be patient as we are hopeful that, with careful management and New Jersey remaining healthy, we will be able to open the grandstand before too long.

Qualifiers will be held on Saturday morning. Pertinent information was released earlier today on important practices and protocols for racing. The draw for the qualifiers is now available.

With the green light to race, we may now release the live racing calendar for the balance of 2020 which may be found on The Meadowlands' website.

The revised 2020 stakes schedule will remain virtually intact. The stakes will begin with the New Jersey Sires Stakes for three-year-olds and the first leg of the Miss Versatility on Friday (June 19). The calendar may still be fluid as changes are made at other tracks regarding their intentions but any move would likely be only from Friday to Saturday.

While we are all pleased and grateful to be back racing, we must remain vigilant so far as following the protocols required of us all as long as they are in place. Good luck and good racing to everyone.

Regarding Saturday's (May 30) marathon qualifying session, the track has issued the following guidance:

The Meadowlands will host 26 qualifying races on Saturday morning (May 30) at 10 a.m. Program pages will be available for download when they are complete. There will be warm-up breaks after races 5, 10, 15 and 20. Horses are permitted one warm-up each.

The paddock gate will open at 7 a.m. for horsemen to enter. Only those persons that are essential to the care and racing of the horses will be allowed entry. The grandstand will be closed. There will be no spectators permitted in any part of the facility.

A COVID-19 questionnaire must be completed and turned in as you pass through the gate. Those questionnaires in a web-fillable format are available for download on the website.

These forms must be presented as hard copy, printed out and handed to the guard when you pass through the gate. Having it on your phone or any device is not acceptable.

Each person entering the property must have their individual forms completed and signed. It will expedite the process if you can have them completed when you arrive.

Each person must submit to a no-touch temperature check before entering. Anyone who does not complete a form or whose temperature is over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38.0 degrees Celsius) will not be admitted.

All stalls are being assigned by state reps to try and execute proper social distance. Those stall assignments will be posted when they are complete. This could be much later, so they will also be handed out at the gate. Trainers with multiple horses will be stabled in one area rather than the normal separation by races as much as possible.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is required. Face covering is mandatory at all times when in the paddock area, gloves are recommended when touching common equipment, and all are advised to maintain the accepted social distance of six feet. The number of people in the paddock and contact with others must be kept to the absolute minimum.

The caretakers must not gather in a group trackside when waiting for their horses to come off the track or at any other time. This is very important.

(Meadowlands)