Kentucky Derby falls to coronavirus' sports purge
And it's off!
The Kentucky Derby will be postponed to Sept. 5 this year over the growing COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., race officials announced Tuesday. This marks the first time the race has been postponed since 1945, and the first time it hasn't been run on the first Saturday in May since then as well.
The derby is the latest sport to fall to the coronavirus cancellation spree — the MLB, NHL, and nearly every soccer league in the world have called off games, to name a few. The Kentucky Oaks, a race for 3-year-old fillies run the day before the Derby, will be postponed until Sept. 4 as well. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission still has to approve the changes, and is expected to do so on Thursday.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's still unclear if the Belmont Stakes and the Preakness Stakes — the next two races in the Triple Crown — will be postponed as well. "We gave [Preakness and Belmont officials] a heads up as we got close to finalizing an arrangement with our NBC partners. They were receptive," Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen told reporters on Tuesday. The New York Racing Authority, which runs the Belmont, ensured in a Tuesday statement it would hold the race this year but is still working "to make a determination about the timing." Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) also said talks were ongoing about rescheduling the Preakness.
-
How does A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms compare to Game of Thrones?Talking Point George R.R. Martin prequel is more ‘fun’ but still has plenty of blood and guts
-
The Board of Peace: Donald Trump’s ‘alternative to the UN’The Explainer Body set up to oversee reconstruction of Gaza could have broader mandate to mediate other conflicts and create a ‘US-dominated alternative to the UN’
-
Prince Harry’s court battle with ‘highly intrusive’ pressIn the Spotlight As the Duke of Sussex and other high-profile claimants begin their trial against Associated Newspapers, ‘the stakes for all sides are high’
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
