Horse racing is among the numerous industries which have been completely upended by the COVID-19 crisis. Numerous tracks have halted or cancelled their meets, and exactly when they will resume operations remains very uncertain.
Thankfully, those looking for the diversion that horse racing provides in these challenging times still have a handful of options to explore. Let’s take a look at the week ahead for horse racing and which tracks are still slated to be up and running.
Fonner Park
The Grand Island, NE track has become quite popular as one of the few early week options for racing action. Three cards are currently on tap for this week:
Monday, March 30
Tuesday, March 31
Wednesday, April 1
All three days will have nine races on the docket and a post time of 4 PM CT for Race 1. Among the highlights is the $15,000 Pepsi Stakes in Race 8 on Tuesday, which is 6 furlongs on a dirt track for 3-year-old fillies. Post time for the race is 7:09 PM CT.
Will Rogers
Located in Claremont, OK, Will Rogers is the other option for those looking for early week horse racing. Three cards are set for now, all of which get underway at 2:15 PM CT.
Monday, March 30
Tuesday, March 31
Wednesday, April 1
It’s a trio of 10-race cards, all of which are highlighted by some intriguing Allowance races.
Monday – Race 9, 5:15 PM CT – $26,400 Allowance, 6 furlongs on dirt for 12 starters
Tuesday – Race 9, 5:15 PM CT – $27,500 Allowance, 6 furlongs on dirt for 10 starters
Wednesday – Race 3, 2:15 PM CT – $26,400 Allowance, 6 furlongs on dirt for 6 starters
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Downs has two cards scheduled for this week, both of which will feature eight races and slightly different post times for Race 1.
Wednesday, April 1 – 12:24 PM ET
Friday, April 3 – 12:30 PM ET
There’s a full range of betting options to be found at Tampa Bay. Highlights include a Pick 5 which gets underway with Race 1, and a Pick 6 that gets started in Race 3.
Gulfstream Park
A big highlight of this past weekend was Tiz the Law taking down the Florida Derby on Saturday, a card which was chock full of stakes races. Gulfstream is in line to be back up and running later this week.
Thursday, April 2
Friday, April 3
It’s 9-race cards for both days which get underway at 1 PM ET. There was a mandatory payout of the Rainbow Pick 6 on Saturday which netted a cool $17,848.56 for winning tickets. The pool has reset with the Pick 6 getting underway with Race 4 for both days of this week’s action.
Oaklawn Park
The Hot Springs, AK track is scheduled to return to action later this week. The full field has been set for two cards as of now.
Thursday, April 2
Friday, April 3
It’s 9-race cards for both days with a post time of 1 PM CT for Race 1. Highlights include a pair of big Allowance races on both days.
Thursday – Race 6, 3:36 PM CT – $61,000 Allowance, 6 furlongs on dirt for 10 starters
Friday – Race 9, 5:09 PM CT – $61,000 Allowance, 1 Mile on dirt for 13 starters
Golden Gate
Now that the Rainbow Pick 6 has been paid out, this Berkeley, CA track has the biggest carryover still going. The Golden Gate Pick 6 pool stands at $398,294 for now as the track gets set to return later this week.
Thursday, April 2
Friday, April 3
Both days have eight races on tap with Thursday’s card beginning at 12:45 PM PT and Friday’s action getting underway at 1:15 PM PT. It’s an all weather track at Golden Gate, so keep that in mind as you get set to break down the races.
Remington Park
The Oklahoma City track will get back to it later this week for evening Quarter Horse action that gets underway at 6 PM CT.
Thursday, April 2
Friday, April 3
It’s a 9-race card on Thursday, followed by an evening of 10 races on Friday.
That’s the schedule for US racing through Friday as of now, but we’ll have to consider it subject to change in case anything new develops over the coming week.
