Today Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds gave the green light to Prairie Meadows to begin racing without spectators.
In her proclamation modifying her earlier executive order regarding businesses that can reopen this Friday, Section L pertained to Prairie Meadows: “A speedway or racetrack, including a track conducting horse or dog races, may reopen or continue its operations provided that it does not permit any spectators to attend its events in person.“
The Iowa HBPA issues a statement hailing the news but acknowledging that there are still several steps that need to be taken before racing can occur. A meeting will most likely be scheduled soon between horsemen, the racetrack and possibly the IRGC in order to come to agreement and draft guidelines for reopening the backside and conducting a race meet
Full HBPA statement:
Dear HBPA Members,
Governor Reynolds just proclaimed that horse racing may commence spectator free this Friday, May 15 at Prairie Meadows! This information is located in the section under L. Race tracks: A speedway or race track, including a track conducting horse or dog races, may reopen or continue its operations provided that it does not permit any spectators to attend its events in person.
This is huge news for us as we have been working with her office to get the point of allowing for a commencement date of racing. We are of course excited about this announcement and glad to share the news with all of you.
While this is a big step forward there are still steps to be taken. This of course is continuing a dialogue with Prairie Meadows on when the backside can open, and we can officially begin to race.
While the Governors order allows us to run spectator free, we still are in discussions with Prairie Meadows on how quickly that can occur and under what scenario that will exactly look like.
Also, we are in discussions with the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission and what procedures they would like to have in place for every aspect of their regulation of racing in this new environment.
As always, we will keep you informed when information is confirmed.
We continue to be committed to running a race meet here at Prairie Meadows in 2020 and we are one step closer!
They need to allow spectators at a safe distance all the Casino inLa are open for business. The Horsemen have much more invested that five dollar bet at blackjack table of a pull of a slot machine. These horsemen & jockeys are professionals athletes and the hires have untold hours of work to get the animal physical fix & metally ready for completion. Every one involved should mine able to participate. Blessing you for your hard work.