KENTUCKY DERBY REVERSES COURSE, WILL RUN SANS FANS
The Kentucky Derby will run without fans for the first time, Churchill Downs announced Friday, citing increasing COVID-19 cases in the area.
It will be the second Triple Crown race this year without spectators, following the Belmont Stakes in June. The Derby and Kentucky Oaks for fillies were postponed from May 1-2 to Sept. 4-5 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Churchill Downs had planned to limit attendance for the 146th Derby to 23,000.
“We were confident in that plan, but dedicated to remaining flexible using the best and most reliable information available,” the track said in a statement. “With the current significant increases in COVID-19 cases in Louisville as well as across the region, we needed to again revisit our planning. We deeply regret the disappointment this will bring to our loyal fans.”
Sevilla beats Inter Milan 3-2 to win 6th Europa League.
COLOGNE, GERMANY» The longest Europa League season came down to a defender’s spectacular shot and a striker trying to keep it out. Instead of blocking Diego Carlos’ overhead kick — which was going wide — Romelu Lukaku deflected it into his own net. That handed Sevilla a 3-2 win in the final Friday and a record sixth Europa League title. And it gave Lukaku the distinction of scoring for both teams.
Smith wins at Dover for 2nd NASCAR Truck victory in 3 races.
Zane Smith won the NASCAR Truck Series race at Dover International Speedway on Friday night. Smith pulled away in the No. 21 Chevrolet on a late restart to win for the second time in three races. The 21-year-old Smith won at Michigan to earn one of the 10 spots in the playoff field. Smith held off Matt Crafton and Brett Moffitt to take the checkered flag in front of empty stands.
Injured Holmqvist leads British Open, only player under par.
As if Royal Troon isn’t playing hard enough for the world’s top female golfers this week, Dani Holmqvist is going around the wind-swept Scottish links carrying a nagging back injury from a cart crash in 2018. It’s not stopping the Swede leading the Women’s British Open after two rounds.
On another tough day when firstround leader Amy Olson shot 81 — 14 strokes worse than Thursday — and stars like Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson and defending champion Hinako Shibuno missed the cut, Holmqvist shot 1-under 70 in windy morning conditions to be the only player under par after 36 holes.
Coyotes lay off, furlough staff due to COVID. The Arizona Coyotes have laid off and furloughed staff due to financial issues caused by the coronavirus. The NHL team did not specify how many staff members nor which departments were affected.
“These are incredibly challenging times for everyone and we’ve had to make some extremely difficult decisions,” the team said in a statement.
The team furloughed about half its business staff in April, but did pay its hourly and part-time employees for home games wiped out by the virus.
Hawkeyes drop 4 sports programs. Iowa will drop four sports programs at the end of the 2020-21 academic year due to financial hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic. School President Bruce Harreld and athletic director Gary Barta said that a projected revenue loss of $100 million forced the university to discontinue men’s gymnastics, men’s tennis and men’s and women’s swimming and diving.
Nebraska athletic department puts 51 on furlough, institutes pay cuts. Nebraska is putting 51 athletic department employees on furlough and all others will take a 10% pay cut in response to the budget crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The furloughs and pay cuts will be in effect from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.