Avery Island cruises home in the Withers Stakes (G3)

The home of the Kentucky Derby, which this year was moved to Sept. 5 from May 2 because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, said opening day of its 2020 Spring Meet without spectators will be communicated in the coming days. “There will be no fans for racing,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a news release issued by Churchill Downs. “I will tell you this is one of the most detailed plans that we have seen about specific security checks that everybody has to go through and be temperature-checked to masking to having a very limited group that is there.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Monday sued New York horse racing officials for suspending him from running horses at state racetracks, following a positive drug test for the Baffert-trained Medina Spirit after it won the Kentucky Derby. In a complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court, Baffert, a seven-time Kentucky Derby winner and one of the sport’s best-known figures, said the New York Racing Association (NYRA) usurped the authority of the state’s gaming commission by suspending his trainer’s license.