With the announcement of the unprecedented changes to Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the question looms if something similar is planned for harness racing's major events.
Many major stakes races have a cancellation clause within the conditions. The following excerpt comes from the conditions of the 2020 Hambletonian, with similar language on many of the Hambletonian Society's stakes events.
The Society further reserves the right to cancel any Race or all Races if for reasons beyond its control it becomes impractical or undesirable in the opinion of the Society to conduct said Race or Races.
If an event is not conducted due to circumstances beyond its control, the Society’s responsibility and liability will be limited to refunding without interest nomination, sustaining, and starting fees collected toward canceled Race or Races that have not been disbursed at the time of cancellation. These monies will be prorated among the owners of the horses eligible at the time of cancellation.
Hambletonian Society President John Campbell commented on whether the organization is currently considering a shift for some of its events. Campbell's comments came on March 17 after Churchill Downs announced a rescheduled date for the Kentucky Derby from its traditional first Saturday in May (May 2, 2020) to a Saturday in September.
"We have not discussed any rescheduling of any of our Stakes or the Stakes that we administer with our track partners as of yet," Hambletonian Society President John Campbell told Trot Insider.
With the Hambletonian Society's first stakes events -- the Dexter Cup at Freehold Raceway and the Reynolds at Yonkers Raceway -- slated for that same first Saturday in May, Campbell noted that they do have some time to prepare for a potential reschedule of the races but that it's too early to tell if such a move will be required.
"We do have some time and the reality is no one knows how to plan or what the protocols will be in two days let alone six weeks."
Given the ever-evolving landscape of life as well as horse racing around the globe, Campbell stated that the Hambletonian Society will continue to monitor and adhere to all recommended guidelines.
"We will be in contact with our racetrack partners in the very near future to determine the scheduling and the feasibility of our stake schedule," said Campbell. "This will obviously be a fluid situation and I’m sure reopening circumstances will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction."
Now that April is here, I
Now that April is here, I think all stakes races scheduled between now and May 15th should be officially cancelled, or at least postponed.The major stakes affected would be The Borgata (formerly The Levy) and The Matchmaker at Yonkers, and the first leg of The Graduate, at The Meadowlands. That would still leave 3 legs of The Graduate, including another leg at The Meadowlands, prior to the final. Abbreviated versions of The Borgata and The Matchmaker could still be scheduled for September.