Fauci held by Prisoner in debut

Jun 05, 2020 06:00 am

Bettors looked to ride a hunch by making newcomer Fauci the favourite when horse racing returned to New York's Belmont Park in the US on Wednesday.

But the horse named after Dr Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert at the centre of US efforts to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak, beat all but the second favourite Prisoner in the third race.

The action at Belmont Park was the first live sporting event in New York in nearly three months, as restrictions to curb the Covid-19 outbreak begin to ease.

The horse's owner, Philip Antonacci, bought the two-year-old for US$175,000 (S$245,000) last year, according to a New York Post report. Three months ago, he applied to give the horse the name Fauci to honour his family's Italian-American heritage and the doctor, who was a neighbour in Brooklyn. - REUTERS