The Herald Sun are reporting that a limited amount of Owners will be allowed on course for this weekends Cox Plate Carnival after a deal was struck between the Moonee Valley Racing Club and the Victorian Government.
No decision for the Melbourne Cup Carnival has been made yet.
Confirmation that owners will be allowed on course this weekend.
Connections of horses running in the Cox Plate carnival will be allowed on course under strict health and safety protocols.
After public health advice provided by Chief Health Officer, a limited number of owners will be allowed to attend Moonee Valley for Friday nightâs Manikato Stakes meeting and the Saturdayâs 100th edition of the Cox Plate â on top of the jockeys, trainers and support staff required for the event.
A detailed COVIDSafe Plan will be in place for the event, and will include a range of stringent measures including caps on numbers, staggered arrivals, time limits and temperature checks.
Up to 500 connections will be able to attend each of the Manikato Stakes and Cox Plate race days with a maximum of 1,250 people on course for each meeting including jockeys, club operations staff, security, COVIDSafe marshals and media.
Owners and connections will be kept distant from areas used by essential racing personnel including the mounting yard and horse stalls. Social distancing will be required and enforced.
No more than 1,000 people will be permitted on course at any one time â in normal times, the venue can host 38,000 people. Food and beverage service will be take-away only â in line with existing directions for metropolitan Melbourne.
Limits will also be placed on how long owners can attend on racedays. These limits are still to be finalised and will be reviewed and determined by public health officials.
The Moonee Valley Racing Club will provide further advice to owners, including the requirement for permitted work permits to be obtained.
Changes to directions from the Chief Health Officer that allow persons with a business need to attend race meetings mean that connections will be able to attend metropolitan tracks that have COVIDSafe Plans in place ongoing, under set conditions.
Owners were able to return to meetings in regional Victoria earlier this month under similarly strict conditions.
The Government remains in discussion with the Victoria Racing Club around arrangements for the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Racing Martin Pakula
âThis will give connections the chance to see their horses compete under strict health protocols.â
âThe change has been closely considered by health officials, who will monitor the implementation of the plan to ensure the health and wellbeing of everyone involved.â
âWe have taken the advice of the Chief Health Officer â I know that connections will follow the lead of jockeys, trainers and stable workers and follow all protocols to the letter.â
https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/owners-allowed-cox-plate-under-strict-health-protocols
Tonight Martin Pakula reversed his decision, meaning owners would be banned from Cox Plate this Saturday.
Yes maybe, as it will falls after the next easement of restrictions for business.
I donât think many outside of retailers would mind if this just slowly died out in Australia.
are you anti-American?? I would mind and I know others who do mind if this died out
Itâs going the opposite way in Australia. Halloween is growing more popular year on year.
Halloween can fuck off.
If I want to be really scary, I just take my clothes off. 
Why donât you bring us a surprise on October 31st instead 
Todayâs announcement that all states except WA will open their borders by Christmas means major sporting leagues will have to start planning fixtures that will see WA-placed teams playing away for part or whole of their seasons. Already Perth Scorchers in the WBBL are playing in Sydney while Perth Lynx will fly to North Queensland to take part in the WNBL hub.
In the near future, the most affected will be Perth Glory (W-League), Perth Scorchers (BBL), and Fremantle and West Coast in AFLW who will have to play either in a hub, or have their home games in another city e.g. Adelaide. Should WA open its state border by April 2021, Perth Glory (A-League) and Perth Wildcats (NBL) should be able to play matches at home towards the end of their regular seasons.
Wildcats can fuck right off. Stay in WA.
The whole league is in Sydney.
The Victoria Racing Club have conceded today that this yearsâ Melbourne Cup Carnival will be ran behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, the VRC are still in discussions to allow a small amount of owners on course.
Iâm presuming the VRCâs plan will be similar to what the MVRC put forward for their Cox Plate Carnival this weekend to have owners on course. The plan was approved by the Victorian Government but in a matter of hours it was withdrawn due to public backlash.
It is a really disappointing decision but the VRC is not at fault. The Melbourne Cup could and should have been a beacon of hope for Melburnians emerging from lockdown. Even just allowing 1000 people to attend Cup day will have been a nice start.
That leaves Carols by Candlelight and the Boxing Day cricket test as the remaining major events in Melbourne for 2020 where a mass crowd can be admitted.
Should have moved it to Brisbane.
Doesnât Brisbane have its own cup race as part of the winter carnival?
Yes at Group 2 level.
This event should be cancelled with Nine replaying an old telecast or âBest ofâ show on Christmas Eve. Itâs more or less exactly the same every year, so I think we can handle at least one year without new Carols By Candlelight.
Same deal with Carols in the Domain here in Sydney, except of course the TV broadcaster of that particular event is Seven.
Iâd probably expect this to be played without a crowd, if it isnât moved interstate.
Well, a decision on this yearâs event has not been made yet.