Despite a worldwide pandemic, some of the biggest horse racing events including the Breeders’ Cup will go on this year. (Photo by Jamey Price/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup)
As we go further in 2020, many are shaking off the shock and grim prognosis that horse racing may not survive after what transpired in the first half of the year. For a sport that many believe is on a decline, it absolutely must pick up where it left off, not look back, and keep running. So to speak.
Thus, as many events go ahead, without general admission, some remain torn if this is a gamble or not? Is it a spin of the wheel at a land-based casino or online roulette? Nevertheless, the consensus is that the show must go on, and anticipation brews as events are set to go ahead as the year closes. Here are a few major ones you can look forward to enjoying.
Kentucky Derby
Dubbed the Run for the Roses, the Kentucky Derby is likely the most famous horse race in the world, held every year in Louisville. Started by Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., grandson of explorer William Clark in 1875, the 2020 event will be the 146th edition of the race that is synonymous with the sport.
Originally scheduled for May 5th, the event had to be pushed back until September 5th, which will be the first time since 1945 that the Derby hasn’t been run on the first Saturday in May. It will also mark the third-ever time that the race hasn’t happened in May.
The organizers will allow only 14% of their 2015 record attendance to watch the event live. The record featured 170,513 people at Churchill Downs, which means that 23,000 fans will be at the track this year.
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a French race open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. Many call it the Arc for short, and in only trails behind the Epsom Derby, ranking as Europe’s second most prestigious horse race. It is run at the Paris Longchamp Racecourse, which is a 57-hectare horse-racing facility. The run distance is 2,400 meters, and the competition usually happens on the first Sunday in October.
This year will be no exception, as the event is scheduled to start Saturday, October 3, at noon. It will end the following day at 9:30 PM.
Experts favor the British racehorse Enable to recapture her crown after she was unable to land a historic third Arc success last year.
Breeders’ Cup
The Breeders’ Cup is an annual series of grade 1 thoroughbred horse races. The idea was conceived in 1982 by a group of Kentucky breeders, led by John Gaines. The concept for the event was to create a year-end, culminating championship for their sport, where horses from around the globe could compete and find out who is the best.
From 1984 until 2006, the Breeders’ Cup was a single-day event. However, from 2007, it expanded to two days. This year, it will start on Friday, November 6, and end the following day.
