Why Wrestling and Horse Racing are allowed despite COVID-19

April in the States is usually a month with a lot of sporting highlights. First and foremost, fans would normally look forward to the NBA (basketball) and NHL (ice hockey) playoffs. Furthermore, there would be Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer.

However, all of that has been put on hold, with the players in those leagues sitting it out at home while the stadiums and arenas they used to play in are closed.

But all is not lost. Pro sports are still around in the Land of the Free. They may not be the most popular ones broadcast on the biggest networks, but they are still live and with plenty of action — just minus live fans. At five horseracing tracks in Florida, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Arkansas you can still lay down your bets on your favorite horses — online only.

And at the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Performance Center in Orlando (Florida), many of the world's top pro wrestlers can still hurl each other around the ring.

Close contact instead of social distancing

This is also where the WWE produces its shows "RAW" und "SmackDown." However, at the beginning of April it was not expected that in times of social distancing wrestlers would still get the chance to have a go at each other. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had issued a stay-at-home order because of COVID-19, allowing only essential businesses like supermarkets, doctors' offices and gas stations to remain open.

Jerry Demings, the Mayor of Orange County, where the Performance Center is situated, also originally stated that the WWE would not be deemed an essential business.

Hence, the uproar now that WWE wrestlers are, indeed, plying their trade and in action on TV. That, at a time with more than 28,000 positive tests for COVID-19 in the state of Florida alone — including a WWE wrestler — and more than 900 deaths due to the disease.

All the more puzzling since the WWE isn't exactly suffering financially nor threatened with bankruptcy. In fact, quite the opposite. Numerous U.S. media outlets report that the company has no significant debt and is worth about $500 million.

Sudden special status for the WWE

Orange County Mayor Demmings announced the sudden turn-around eight days after the governor's stay-at-home order when Demmings had, as he stated, "some conversation with the governor's office". Following that, Florida Governor DeSantis announced that "employees at a professional sports and media productions with a national audience" as "essential services."

A spokesperson from the governor's office told U.S. sports broadcaster ESPN that the inclusion of the WWE arose because, "They are critical to Florida's economy." Of course, the matches must still be closed to the general public.

That means that the WWE, which, according to TV deals, cannot tape most of its shows and must show them live, can broadcast. Governor DeSantis defended his decision, saying that the WWE does the shows with a small number of people, yet can entertain huge audiences.

The Trump factor

Some think the real reason DeSantis made the decision was because of a multimillion-dollar donation. That's where U.S. President Donald Trump comes in. He had supported DeSantis back in the fall of 2018 in the run-up to the election for Florida governor against the Democrat candidate Andrew Gillum whom DeSantis narrowly defeated. Many feel that DeSantis' victory was due to Trump's support.

The Florida daily Orlando Sentinel wrote an editorial saying, "The WWE has 'turned heel' and publicly aligned itself with President Donald Trump and the GOP." The reason is because of an $18.5 million commitment to Republican campaigns made the same day the announcement was made, April 9, designating the WWE as an "essential service."

The money comes from America First Action PAC, a pro-Trump organization. Its chairperson is Linda McMahon, the wife of WWE boss Vince McMahon. Until last spring, Linda McMahon had also been the head of Trump's Small Business Administration office.  

'The show must go on'

Vince McMahon has been a close associate of Trump for decades, and even held a number of WWE wrestling events in hotels owned by the U.S. president. During the so-called Battle of the Billionaires at WrestleMania 23 in 2007, Trump won a bet to shave McMahon's head after his wrestler had defeated McMahon's.

McMahon called it the most embarrassing moment of his life during a ceremony in 2013 when he inaugurated Trump into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Now Trump has taken McMahon on as an advisor for the Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups to work on plans to revitalize the U.S. economy again. McMahon is also the same man whose American Football League XFL filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month, and who also laid off or put on furlough about 30 WWE employees.

One of McMahon's slogans is: "The show must go on." Indeed it will, with WWE TV programs to restart next week live from Orlando. The organization says it looks out for its athletes, but that hasn't stopped the critics. The Orlando Sentinel wrote: "WWE has created a universe predicated on escapism where anything goes … but the lines between the real world and wrestling are blurred when the actions of billionaires jeopardize the livelihoods of men, women, and their families for profits."

Horseracing is big business

Just 170 kilometers west of the wrestling ring lies the horse track of Tampa Bay Downs where you'll also find live sports, also in front of empty stands. And Javier Castellano of Venezuela, one of the most successful jockeys in the game and inductee into The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, tested positive for Covid-19 at the end of March.

At the beginning of April one of the stablehands at the world-renowned Belmont Park east of New York City even died from the disease. Despite all that, horseracing continues. Just this weekend alone quite a few races are planned at Tampa Bay Downs. And that translates into big bucks, making this big business. Millions are riding on these competitions, with all the betting this time being done online.

Since there are only a handful of race tracks still open in the US, they attract a lot of interest from betters across the nation using the internet. Fonner Park in Grand Island, Nebraska, is another such example. The season was supposed to end there on April 29. However, the Nebraska State Racing Commission approved a Second Season of 12 days of racing to go from May 4 to 31.

Extended Season

In fact, no-spectator horseracing has been going on there since March 23. However, to avoid competition from other more popular tracks on the weekend, Fonner Park switched to a Monday to Wednesday schedule. According to The Norfolk Daily News, daily betting at races there is now more than $2 million.

Organizers hope that with the additional competitions in May they'll be able to reduce the revenue losses they've suffered because of the loss of spectators. However, they also know that once other tracks open up, competition will increase and their revenues will decrease.