Italian Breeders Adapt to Strict Measures Amid Lockdown

Daily life in Italy has been affected in an incomparable way, with the country the worst-hit by COVID-19 in Europe, and its death toll is now reported to have surpassed that of China.

No business, nor individual, is unaffected by a national lockdown, which is set to be extended into next month. Its Thoroughbred breeding industry, already a shadow of the times of Federico Tesio and palpably a parochial concern in the grander scheme of things, has not escaped, either.

Paolo Crespi runs the Societa Agricola Besnate near Milan that stands four Thoroughbred stallions, including Italy's most expensive publicly listed sire, Arcano, the winner of the 2009 Darley Prix Morny (G1) for Brian Meehan and Shadwell.

"In the last few days, there's been no realistic possibility of moving the horses around because the decree made by the government wasn't completely openly speaking of horses that could be moved for reproduction purposes," Crespi said March 20. "Horses that were to do with sport couldn't be moved. Yesterday evening, they released a note by the ministry that will allow specifically the movement of horses for reproduction purposes. People who move horses commercially will be allowed to operate."

On the face of it, this might be considered good news. Crespi, however, said the reality is very different.

"It's difficult to explain if you don't know yet, but, of course, when the lockdown comes on, people stop thinking of Thoroughbred reproduction. You're a bit overwhelmed by other problems, everyday problems," he said. "I think that, realistically, there will be maybe a few people still sending their mares. We do have every procedure here, but there will not be racing for how long? We don't know. Many people are certainly choosing to cover as few mares as they can."

He paints a stark picture of life in a country that has a golden history in racing.

"This is a problem solved, but it doesn't solve the biggest picture, which is the lockdown, and it's very serious," he continued. "According to the press, it could become even more serious in the next few days. I can't see my daughter, who lives 100 meters away, period. Of course, I have permission to go to check if the sanitary requirements are met in the farm. I go there two hours every second day to bring masks and so on, but that's all.

"We have a procedure if a mare arrives; the people traveling with the mare, they must be put in a corner and quarantined. They cannot approach us—not even the handlers of the mare. They would stay two meters apart. They're forbidden to do any different. All procedures on the farm are limited to the bare necessity. For example, a client asked for a picture of their horses, and I replied, 'No' because it's unnecessary. No more weighing yearlings—that's unnecessary.

"My nephew wanted to purchase a game for the computer, and it raised a big question. If you purchase something that is unnecessary, maybe the men who are delivering something to you will do that and not something that isn't unnecessary. It's serious, the lockdown, and I want all my English friends to know that.

"It's something unbelievable, but we're learning. We've changed our priorities. And that's it."

Angelo Robiati, a breeder and Goffs' Italian representative, is another subject to home confinement aside from when strictly necessary.

"The situation is not brilliant at all. It's completely strange," he said Thursday. "Several of the best Italian breeders have already been boarding their mares in England, Ireland, and France, so the situation is easier for them.

"In Italy, the good stallions are based near Milan, but it's quite hard to move horses, say, if you have mares in Rome. And in our training centers, Alduino Botti and Bruno Grizzetti are limited in the work they can do with their horses.

"The Italian racing season would ordinarily start today, but there are rumors they will maybe postpone until Easter. It's quite impossible that the situation will be clear, I suppose. We have to stay at home and cross our fingers."