Horse racing hoping for return to normal, with fans present, in 2021

The golden sunset over Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, provided a picturesque and welcome wrap for horse racing after the pandemic wiped out its spring, cramped marquee stakes races into a crowded schedule and reshuffled the Triple Crown order. No Triple Crown winner emerged as a result, though the Breeders’ Cup world championships helped make up for that. Many of its best competitors performed at the top of their games on a record- breakingweekend, sparking high expectations for 2021.

The sport just hopes that next year’s schedule returns to normal and that spectators can be in the grandstands enjoying the races.

“It’s been a different feeling, you know?” trainer Bill Mott said last week. “Being a participant, we probably get as excited as the fans when they’re there. It’s like I’ve got a bet on every race we’re participating in. So, I miss the fans.”

“I’ll be glad when everything gets back to normal andwe have the fans back,“he said.

The pandemic struck in the middle of qualifying season for the Kentucky Derby, which ended up postponed from the first Saturday in May for the first time since 1945 to Labor Dayweekend. It was sandwiched between the Belmont Stakes and Preakness, which ran just over a month ago as the Triple Crown’s final jewel instead of in the middle.

The upside: Those events and other stakes races still ran, allowing the sport continuity as it prepares for what’s next. “It was a crazy year and a lot of hardships,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday. “We just feel fortunate that we got to keep going and happy that racing continues.”