As coronovirus numbers continue to rise and an increasing number of sports around the Carolinas now canceled, more and more people are going online for their sporting fix.
One of the last remaining sports in the world that’s continuing to hold competitions is the horse racing industry in Australia. The entire make-up of racing itself is vastly different to that of the NBA, NFL, or any other organized sport in the world. The biggest differences lies in the animals, and the hundreds of trainers and their staff rely on the unique sport.
Charlotteans are not only tuning in to the sport of horse racing, their also using horse racing betting tips to attempt to win some extra money during these uncertain times.
While more and more people are tuning into the sport, it is still possible that it too might fall to the increasing pressure and spread of COVID-19. Not only are jockeys, groomers, trainers, and owners in very close proximity before and after the race, the races still also draw huge crowds and media outlets to each race.
The Sydney Morning Herald interviewed sports doctor Peter Brukner about the phenomena and about why the sport may not continue to operate for very much longer.
“It’s pretty hard to socially isolate in a horse race and I think also it’s the message that it’s sending out,” Brukner says. “You’ve got 16 jockeys in pretty close proximity for a minute or two in the race. You can distance yourself in an office but you can’t on a racetrack.
For now, however, it seems that race fans can’t get enough of the sport, and an increasing number of fans around the world will continue to tune into one of the only sports in the world that is still being played.
The sport is the lifeblood of tens of thousands of those involved in the industry, providing full- or part-time employment for almost 250,000 people, the equivalent of 77,000 jobs. Approximately 300,000 people have a direct interest as owners of, or members of teams which own, a total of 30,000 horses in training in the country of Australia. There are also bookmakers, just over 3,600 horse trainers and over 1,000 horse jockeys. Horse race meetings are organised by at lease 374 horse clubs organizing at least 2,694 meetings on 360 racecourses around the country of Australia for over $427,245,000 case in total prizes.