Popular, long-time Kentucky sporting event could be canceled again, faces dire future
One of Kentucky’s biggest, most popular international sporting events is on hold, in danger of being canceled this year and possibly putting future competitions in doubt.
If the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park can’t have spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event will be off again for 2021. And the organization that has put on the fan favorite since the 1970s, Equestrian Events Inc., will be in dire financial straits going forward.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation, which is the governing body for horse sports, last year put out rules for how to hold competitions safely during the pandemic. They don’t allow for spectators but Equestrian Events Inc. is lobbying for an exemption.
Vicki Lowell, spokeswoman for USEF said on Thursday that “we are continuing to closely monitor the situation and are hopeful that spectators will be permitted in the future. To that end, we are working with our chief medical officer, Dr. Mark Hart, on the protocols and restrictions regarding spectators in order to be prepared for the day when we can once again welcome spectators to USEF competitions.”
She said they do not have a firm date for making a decision but would announce it when one is made.
Lee Carter, executive director of Equestrian Events Inc., said Thursday that the annual equine competition, usually held the last week of April, can only wait another month on a decision.
“Financially, it’s just not feasible for us to have (the three-day event) without spectators,” Carter said. “Our priority is to give people an opportunity to get a refund.” After the tickets are refunded, “there’s just not enough to produce the event without some other infusion of funds.”
How might spectators at the Three-Day Event work?
Tickets for the three-day event would usually go on sale in October, but that wasdelayed until January 2021 due to COVID. Now the organizers will wait until mid-February in the hopes that the commonwealth and USEF will allow spectators. The delay comes as states race to vaccinate people even as newer, more contagious strains of the virus emerge.
“We’re not suggesting that we should operate as though the virus is not present,” Carter said. “The event has to look different, and we have to follow all the protocols of the commonwealth and the CDC and our governing body. We can’t act ‘normal.’ But we do believe there is a way to run the event and meet all the expectations safely.”
But they are running out of time to make that happen.
When last year’s event canceled in March, most of the money from tickets already sold and other fees already paid was rolled over for 2021, Carter said. If they can’t hold the event again this year, EEI will have to refund nearly $1 million, which would take much of the non-profit’s reserves.
That leaves EEI in a dangerous financial position.
“If the market takes a downturn or you have any other catastrophe, it could put us at risk of not existing anymore,” Carter said. Even without another major financial hit, he said the organization will struggle until paying events can return.
Kentucky state COVID restrictions currently allow up to 50 percent capacity at most outdoor sporting events, with social distancing and mask requirements. Indoor events, such as University of Kentucky basketball games in Rupp Arena, are allowed 15 percent capacity.
The Kentucky Three-Day Event, which for many years was known as the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, draws 80,000 attendees over four days, with more than 30,000 on Saturday’s cross-country day, with spectators along the riding course.
The Kentucky Derby, which is held at Churchill Downs in Louisville a week after the three-day event, has announced plans to have as many as 82,500 spectators this year, half the typical crowd. But the track has yet to begin selling general admission tickets.
Last year’s Derby was delayed until September and then run without fans after COVID cases began to rise.
Competitors eager to come
Carter said that there has been lots of interest in attending from potential competitors, some of whom are still hoping to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in July and want to ride on a course created by the same designer, Derek DiGrazia.
Alston Kerr, who chairs the state’s Kentucky Horse Park Commission, said that if the event is canceled for a second year in a row it will put another big hole in the state park’s budget and further hurt tourism in Lexington and in Georgetown, which is on the north side of the Horse Park.
She said if this year follows 2020’s model, more events will cancel if the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event does. Already, another major park event, Breyerfest, has announced it will be virtual this year.
From March to December, the Horse Park’s lost about $3.4 million due to canceled shows, Kerr said.
“This is the park’s signature event, and we will do all we can to help bring this about, working with our two good partners, EEI and the USEF,” Kerr said. “Nobody wants to jeopardize any individual but I do believe that we can do it responsibly.”
