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HRV Trots Media
30 MAR 2020 Last Updated 30 Mar 2020From Thursday, Victorian harness racing will be conducted with racing in defined districts restricted to participants from those areas. Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) today revealed a new region-based racing calendar to limit travel for participants, in line with public health recommendations to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Tomorrow night’s Mildura meeting has been cancelled due to the Mildura Cup being postponed. That meeting has been replaced by a new Bendigo meeting. “This model allows us to keep essential personnel and participants at race meetings. It also provides us the best opportunity to continue conducting race meetings,” HRV CEO Dayle Brown said. The new racing model will see Victoria divided into six regions, with meetings conducted at nine tracks – Inner West (Melton and Ballarat), West (Terang and Stawell), East (Kilmore and Cranbourne), North West (Mildura), Central (Bendigo) and North East (Shepparton). All previous calendar feature events will be cancelled. Details regarding prizemoney will be advised. Every Victorian participant has been assigned a specific region in which they are allowed to compete. The list can be viewed here. “The support we have received through regular and thorough consultation with our industry representative bodies during this challenging period has been really important and I thank them for that,” Brown said. Trots Clubs Victoria (TCV) President Tim Scala said the regional model made sense. “We want to survive as an industry and come out the other side of this,” Scala said. “It will mean that some clubs will have their racing transferred to another track or region, but we need to be happy that there will still be clubs operating.” Prominent industry supporter and principal of Aldebaran Park, Duncan McPherson, said that “Harness Racing Victoria was to be commended for its decisive action”. “This is another opportunity for trainers, drivers and all participants to play a role in maintaining the industry,” McPherson said. “I hope we will see this as an opportunity for our industry to move forward.” Victorian Trainers and Drivers Association president Lance Justice said the VTDA welcomed the move. “Naturally there will be some who would like to have been assigned to another region or race at other tracks,” Justice said. “I understand that, but we must unite to support this model so as we can continue earning prizemoney and paying the bills. “The racing office staff at HRV will be flat out reworking the programs and the fields. We have been given assurances they will program to provide as many opportunities as possible throughout all the regions. They are using real-time data to program to best suit racing populations within each region. It’s important now we let them do their job, don’t inundate them with phone calls, and we’ll do ours. We’re all in this together.” Clinton Welsh, who is a member of the Victorian Harness Racing Advisory Council, echoed that sentiment. “Regionalisation is another way we can safeguard the industry. And it’s important that our participants have something that occupies their mind during such a tough time. Racing is a true outlet for a lot of trots people.” Speaking on behalf of owners’ representative body, the Victorian Harness Racing Club, Rob Auber said he was an avid supporter of region-based racing in this time. “HRV has to make some tough decisions to maintain the continuity of racing. Immediately moving to a regional model gives this sport the best chance to succeed,” Auber said. “We understand that this will affect different participants in different ways, but whatever can be done to keep our people safe, healthy and earning a livelihood must be supported.” The new-look Victorian harness racing calendar at this stage for the next fortnight will be: Monday 30 March: Cranbourne day Tuesday 31 March: Bendigo night Wednesday 1 April: Stawell day, Shepparton night Thursday 2 April: Ballarat day, Mildura night Friday 3 April: Kilmore day, Bendigo night Saturday 4 April: Melton night Sunday 5 April: Cranbourne twilight Monday 6 April: Shepparton day Tuesday 7 April: Terang night Wednesday 8 April: Kilmore day, Mildura night Thursday 9 April: Melton day, Bendigo night Saturday 11 April: Melton night Sunday 12 April: Shepparton night Please note, this calendar is subject to change with HRV exploring the possibility of providing additional opportunities for the industry. Industry participants and HRV staff are reminded that HRV has an Industry Assistance Program, which provides a free counselling service to employees and licenced participants. This service is provided by Benestar. Contact them on 1300 360 364 or visit Benestar.com for more information. Industry is also reminded of the current raceday requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) advises this week’s Mildura Cup has been postponed.
The decision was made to discourage participant travel throughout Victoria during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mildura meeting that was scheduled for Tuesday night has now been cancelled. Thursday’s Bendigo meeting has been moved to Tuesday night. Trainers are reminded that those nominated at Bendigo not wishing to accept have the option to scratch by 8.30am tomorrow morning. Wednesday’s meetings at Stawell and Shepparton will go ahead as scheduled. HRV will tomorrow morning provide a more detailed view of how the racing calendar will look from Thursday onward. Racing will resume in Victoria tomorrow night after Harness Racing New South Wales (HRNSW) confirmed the steward tested for COVID-19 earlier this week had returned a negative result.
HRNSW previously reported a club official working at Penrith trots on Thursday March 19 had tested positive to COVID-19. That official had come into contact with a steward, who then worked the following night at Bathurst where Victorian participants were racing. Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) and HRNSW worked together to identify the participants who had contact with the steward and alerted those people during the week. None of those participants have reported any symptoms. “We are comfortable with the processes employed by HRNSW to investigate this situation and we’re pleased the steward has tested negative to COVID-19,” HRV CEO Dayle Brown said. “I am sure the news is a significant relief to that steward and the steward’s family, as well as the entire harness racing industry. “The strict race night protocols previously announced by HRV will remain in place to ensure we continue to reduce our footprint at race meetings, with only essential personnel able to attend. “The health and wellbeing of our people is paramount, and this is why we took the precautionary measures this week to suspend racing while we investigated the NSW reports. “We are continuing to explore all options that would allow our participants the opportunity to continue earning an income through racing. “We are also committed to ensuring full compliance with government health edicts and will continue working closely with our stakeholders and staff to protect their health and wellbeing.” With racing resuming as of tomorrow night, the schedule will proceed as planned. HRV will continue to monitor and respond to government protocols put in place to control the spread of COVID-19. https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/articles/victoria-to-resume-harness-racing/?fbclid=IwAR3v8l2jERIkB9lY-Nqu_HuRc_JWKhq-NwuDEWZTxmP85dnFYiWjqcQ_aIA Victorian trots meetings scheduled for tonight, tomorrow and Friday have been suspended while Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) investigates a report from Harness Racing New South Wales yesterday that a participant who attended a Penrith meeting on Thursday, March 19, had been in contact with a person now confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19.
“We’re investigating potential implications for Victorian personnel who may have subsequently had contact with at-risk individuals at the Bathurst meeting on Friday,” HRV CEO Dayle Brown said. “This is an important precautionary step. We must continue to put the health and wellbeing of our participants above all else.” The participant who had contact with the confirmed COVID-19 case, and a steward who had dealings with the participant last Thursday, have had a COVID-19 test and are awaiting results. The suspended meetings are:
https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/articles/victoria-suspends-more-meetings-following-nsw-report/ Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) and Harness Racing New South Wales (HRNSW) have today announced strict new measures to protect harness racing populations from the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From today both HRV and HRNSW will not accept interstate nominations from any state and no interstate trainers or drivers are permitted to enter race meetings. “The message to our people is simple – do not travel,” the joint HRV/HRNSW statement from CEOs Dayle Brown (HRV) and John Dumesny (HRNSW) said. HRV and HRNSW will update the industry throughout the day as the situation continues to evolve. https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/articles/hrv-hrnsw-close-borders-to-interstate-visitors/ Dear Owners,
I write to you to directly regarding Harness Racing Victoria’s measures to restrict its participants, staff and fans exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic. As you may be aware, on Monday the industry closed tracks to all but licensed participants with a horse engaged at that meeting and essential staff, which adhered to advice from the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer. I appreciate that this directly impacts one of the many joys of ownership; being trackside with friends and family when your horse competes, as well as sharing our great sport with other like-minded people. Unfortunately, these are challenging times and it’s something that for the foreseeable future we can’t afford. The priority is instead on protecting the health and livelihoods of drivers, trainers, stablehands and essential staff, and ensuring your horse can race and earn stake money. Importantly, you can continue to cheer your horses via Sky Racing and RSN 927. Wagering operators will continue to provide betting opportunities, including live streaming of races at TAB.com.au, and you can enjoy the extended free coverage offered on Harness Racing Victoria’s Trots Vision, which can be accessed by clicking here. HRV’s team is motivated to continually improving coverage at thetrots.com.au, particularly through Trots Vision, so owners and trots fans can remain connected to the sport and feel the thrill of trots ownership. To make it even easier to watch Trots Vision place a direct link on the home screen of your phone or tablet. Click here to learn how and stay tuned as this exciting space continues to evolve. If you have any queries, please contact me via bwalker@hrv.org.au. Thank you for your understanding in what are unprecedented times and I wish you, and your horses, all the best. Bianca Walker Partnerships Marketing Coordinator Harness Racing Victoria Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) and Harness Racing New South Wales (HRNSW) have today announced strict new measures to protect harness racing populations from the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From today both HRV and HRNSW will not accept interstate nominations from any state and no interstate trainers or drivers are permitted to enter race meetings. “The message to our people is simple – do not travel,” the joint HRV/HRNSW statement from CEOs Dayle Brown (HRV) and John Dumesny (HRNSW) said. HRV and HRNSW will update the industry throughout the day as the situation continues to evolve. Trainers and drivers are reminded that only licensed participants (trainers, drivers, stablehands) with a horse engaged at the meeting and essential staff are currently allowed entry to Victorian harness racing meetings following Harness Racing Victoria’s (HRV) response to the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday.
This means no family members (including children) travelling with participants will be permitted entry to the meeting. Under the rules of racing, trials are considered race meetings, so the restrictions will apply to trials. These measures are to protect the health and wellbeing of industry participants and staff, as well as fans, by minimising the risk of the COVID-19 virus being spread. All licensed participants will be required to show their licence ID card at the gate. If you have misplaced your card you must organise a replacement as soon as possible by emailing HRV’s Jake Germanchis on JGermanchis@hrv.org.au. Our president Lance Justice wrote this article on Monday: https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/articles/participants-must-take-care-adhere-to-warnings-lance-justice/ I’d also take this opportunity to remind participants that HRV must continue to provide our people earning opportunities. Sometimes, this will mean that if there are sufficient numbers of people wanting to race, an extra race will go ahead. The racing programming team at HRV are working hard to provide the opportunity for participants to earn a living while at the same time minimising the time required for participants to spend at a race meeting. This is a tough balance and it’s important we try and keep ourselves safe. We’ll continue consulting with HRV on ways to help achieve an outcome that suits all. Participants wishing to speak with the VTDA are encouraged to contact me on 0407 519 067. https://www.thetrots.com.au/news/articles/a-message-from-the-vic-trainers-drivers-association/ Participants are advised of the following updates as Harness Racing Victoria (HRV), clubs and the Victorian Trainers and Drivers Association continue to respond to the developing COVID-19 pandemic.
This update follows on from HRV’s response on Monday. Further updates will be provided as they occur.
Read today’s statement from the Victorian Trainers and Drivers Association What you need to know about COVID-19 |
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