A letter penned by SOA of NY President Joe Faraldo and sent to the NY Gaming Commission notes the SOA of NY's approval to conduct qualifying races at Goshen Historic Track.
The letter from Faraldo follows.
With the vast open paddock space at Goshen Historic Track, I reiterate that it would be doable to have qualifiers there and insure that all social distancing mandates, wisely put in place, are observed. Goshen will not permit spectators, only one groom, perhaps a limited number of trainers will be present and certainly a very limited number of drivers will be on hand.
Goshen being a betting-free Fair Track, any racing activity there is under the jurisdiction of the USTA. In the past whatever charted lines were prepared were incorporated into the USTA database and then used as part of the official breed registry records. Records which are relied upon for years as both accurate and reliable when inserted into official racing programs at pari-mutuel track in all of North America. Even assuming there may be a waiver of the existing 30 day qualifying rule, some horsemen still want and need to tighten up their horses and further educate their babies.
We understand that the coronavirus has changed everyone’s mindset as to what is or is not doable but we are confident that we can achieve and insure a safe environment and serve the future needs of racing.
I hope we can get some further guidance and your approval to go forward. I have spoken with the Goshen Historic Track and they will do anything to help harness racing and I know the Gaming Commission feels the same way.
Joe Faraldo, President SOA of NY