Sports events around the globe continue to be cancelled, paused, or postponed due to the coronavirus; the latest major American sports event to be a casualty of the coronavirus is the Kentucky Derby 2020.
The Run for the Roses is the largest horse race meeting in the United States and is the first jewel in the American Triple Crown of Horse Racing. However, unlike the Kentucky Derby’s British counterpart the Grand National, which was cancelled on Monday, the Run for the Roses will simply be postponed until September. Horse racing punters can still wager online on a variety of horse races around the globe. Fans can get each way of 2020 horse racing betting on the latest horse racing meets.
The Kentucky Derby is traditionally scheduled for the first Saturday in May at the world-famous Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. However, for the first time since World War II, the race will not be held. The Run for the Roses is America’s latest major sports event to be postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus as the country’s professional and amateur sports have been hit hard over the last two weeks.
A four-month wait for the Kentucky Derby
Churchill Downs was to celebrate the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby this year, which now be delayed by four months. Its new date will see it run on the Saturday of Labour Day weekend, an American holiday that sees the population take to the outdoors one last time before autumn.
Organisers of the Kentucky Derby are expected to officially announce the new date, which is believed to be September 5, for the race on Tuesday, March 17. It is possible the other two jewels in the Triple Crown of American Horse Racing will be moved to coincide with the rearranged Kentucky Derby date. The Preakness Stakes is set to run just two weeks after the Kentucky Derby on May 16. The Belmont Stakes is scheduled for June 6.
Even if the other two races were still held on those dates, the warm-up time for the horses competing would be limited, although preparations amongst trainers, jockeys, and horses continue while the world battles the coronavirus.
First postponement since WWII
The Kentucky Derby regularly welcomes crowds of around 150,000 race fans each year. While the biggest race on American soil is postponed, however, smaller horse racetracks around the US continue to be active. The racetracks that dot other areas of the US are closed to the public but bets can still be made over the phone or online on the races.
The Louisville-based Churchill Downs racetrack had previously announced that it would delay the opening of its horse stables. In addition, the racetrack stated its on-site gaming and simulcasting centers would not open until the end of March to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The last time the Kentucky Derby was not run the first weekend of May was 1945. “The most exciting two minutes in sports” was held on June 9 after a ban on horse racing due to WWII was ended. Only one other time in its illustrious history was the Kentucky Derby not run on the first Saturday on May.
Horse race fans can rejoice that America’s biggest race will return after the coronavirus dies down. The postponement of four months gives punters something to look forward to.
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.