Horse racing at Fonner Park will continue.
Amid the COVID-19 breakout, the Grand Island track is putting in place a no-spectator trial period, which will begin Monday and run through April 1.
Fonner Park, Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and the Nebraska Thoroughbred Breeders Association announced the change Thursday.
Horse racing at Fonner Park also will move from the weekend to a Monday-Wednesday schedule. A minimum of eight races are intended to run on each race day.
The racing facility will be closed to spectators. However, individuals with a current Nebraska horse racing license who are directly involved with a horse that participates on race day are permitted into the facility.
"Currently horse racetracks in our nation are either closed or operating with a no-spectator adaptation of racing," Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak said in a statement. "My primary concern is the uninterrupted care of the horses in our stable area, and a continued opportunity for their caregivers to maintain a livelihood through racing and the distribution of purse money from racing."
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