Penn Mile Canceled; Racing on Hold in Pennsylvania

Penn National Race Course announced the cancellation of the $500,000 Penn Mile Stakes (G2T) and three other stakes that had been scheduled this month "without a green light to resume racing until further notice," the track said in a news release.

Racing in Pennsylvania has been suspended during COVID-19, with Penn National last racing March 14 and Parx Racing on March 10. Another Thoroughbred track, Presque Isle Downs, has repeatedly delayed its spring opening in the midst of the pandemic. 

A May 11 tweet by the Pennsylvania Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association said June 1 is now the target date for the opening of the Presque Isle Downs backstretch and June 21 for racing. Those dates are fluid.

A letter circulated on social media from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to Russell Redding, the chairman of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission, stated, "We foresee horse racing reopening when counties enter the green phase, like other entertainment (casinos, theaters, etc)."

Wolf has begun easing restrictions in many Pennsylvania counties under a yellow phase.

The four canceled stakes at Penn National—the others are the Penn Oaks, Pennsylvania Governor's Cup Stakes, and 7 Forty 3 Stakes, totaled $900,000 in purses based on its published stakes schedule from earlier this year. Penn National said current plans call for four other Pennsylvania-bred stakes that were part of that card to be rescheduled for a date yet to be determined.

Previously, a group of stakes to be contested as part of the regional MATCH series June 21 at Penn National were removed from the calendar following the series' COVID-19-related cancellation in April.

Penn Mile cards have been responsible for the five largest single-day all-sources handles in Penn National's history, including a record $3,827,158 wagered in 2015.