The Flat racing calendar in the northern hemisphere remains mired in uncertainty, but in one jurisdiction the first Classics of the season have been staged as the coronavirus pandemic rages.
Asia has long been home to the best racing governance in the world, with integrity measures which would seem draconian to many in the West.
Hong Kong introduced incremental restrictions to its programme as early as late January, and racing has been taking place behind closed doors at Sha Tin and Happy Valley since the middle of February.
The region does hold 'Classic' races, but not as we know them, with the preponderance of imported animals - many from the southern hemisphere - resulting in a season focused on those aged four and older.
For a first glimpse of a three-year-old contesting a Classic north of the equator, you have to look a little further east, to Takarazuka in Japan.
The Oka Sho is the Japanese equivalent of the 1000 Guineas, run over a mile at the city's Hanshin racecourse.
The Japan Racing Association closed its doors to the public on 29 February, while more stringent measures were introduced before the Oka Sho took place on 12 April.
Racegoers generate atmosphere and bolster betting turnover to nosebleed levels in Japan - over 29bn yen (almost €253m) was gambled on their two Guineas alone - but the JRA hardly missed the gate receipts.
It'll cost you the princely sum of 200 yen (€1.72) to gain admittance to Tokyo, Nakayama, Kyoto, Hanshin, and Chukyo, and half that at Sapporo, Hakodate, Fukushima, Niigata, and Kokura. All this the product of a country where it's only legal wager on four sports via a pari-mutuel system - horse racing, powerboat racing, speedway and cycling. Bets in the latter are limited to the keirin, a sport invented by the Japanese for the purpose of gambling.
Few workers were already better acclimated to the new quarantine restrictions than jockeys in Japan.
Lockdown at tracks in the country begins at 9pm the night before racing. If riders haven't checked in to the jockeys' quarters before curfew, they won't be riding on the following day's card. When they do arrive, quarantine applies to physical and remote contact with the outside world. Christophe Lemaire's tenure as a fully-licensed jockey in the country got off to an inauspicious start in 2015 when he picked up a 30-day suspension for having the temerity to tweet from the racecourse before finishing his book of rides on race day.
The turbocharged restrictions imposed in light of the pandemic saw jockeys isolated alone rather than in a communal setting.
Riders were limited to taking up mounts at only one racecourse in any weekend to reduce the risk of the spread of the virus.
A regional model was also implemented to ensure that movement was limited for racing at a lower level.
And what of the race itself?
'Oka Sho' translates as 'cherry blossom award' and takes place at the height of hanami, a celebration of the ephemeral beauty of nature, and a metaphor for the fleeting nature of our own mortality.
As the field entered the stalls for the 80th running of the race with a sea of pink illuminating the background, it was a scene juxtaposed with stalls handlers and officials donned in protective clothing as part of a 'new normal'.
The grey Smile Kana (35-1) broke smartly from stall three to seize the early initiative, while Yutaka Take made plenty of use of Resistencia (27-10F) to get her across from stall 17 in a field of 18 to track the early pace.
As the pair duelled at the head of affairs, Daring Tact was restrained a little worse than midfield for much of the race.
There was a sense that Smile Kana and Resistencia had cut one another's throats when Daring Tact eventually mowed them down in the closing stages to win by an ever-increasing length and a half, for which she picked up 130m yen (€1.1m).
If the finished looked slow motion, it was one backed up by sectional times.
The winner - now unbeaten in three starts - clocked an efficient 36.6 seconds for the final three furlongs, but runner-up Resistencia plodded home in 38.2, with Smile Kana's effort timed at 38.8.
The best horse, at least over this trip, may not have prevailed, and connections of the horses in second and third were left wondering what would have transpired with less aggressive rides.
The winner will head to Tokyo's Japanese Oaks for her next start, where her breeding suggests that the step up in trip will suit.
"I'm not worried about the added distance," winning rider Kohei Matsuyama said. "But she does have issues to work, on such as being relaxed."
If the 1000 Guineas led to conjecture over the outcome, last Sunday's 2000 Guineas, known as the Satsuki Sho, was the nearest you get to Occam's razor on a racecourse.
Contrail (17-10F) travelled like the best horse in a contest run over two furlongs further than the standard Guineas trip of a mile and justified his position at the head of the market, clocking 34.9 seconds for the final three furlongs.
The winning margin may have been only half a length, but there were three and a half lengths back to the third. Victory over Salios came despite that rival enjoying a much better trip, with Contrail forced to swing wide as the field rounded the final bend.
The winner will bid to emulate his father Deep Impact in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) at the end of May.
Returning to the European Classic season, and it's on the continent where the greatest certainty is to be found.
France Galop will welcome horses, but not paying spectators, back to its courses on 11 May.
The French Guineas will be run on 1 June, with the unusual Monday berth reflecting the strangest of times.
The German Guineas may be poor relations when compared to those held further west, but at least we know when they're taking place, with the colts' Classic also pencilled in for 1 June, and the fillies' race taking place a week later. Deutscher Galopp will recommence even earlier than their French counterparts, with cards announced from 4 May.
The situation gets a little more hazy closer to home.
British racing hopes to stage the Newmarket Guineas in early June when racing does return, with the weekend of 23-24 May still a possibility, if not a probability, for the Irish Guineas at the Curragh.
Uncertainty also remains on what role, if any, foreign raiders will have in these races.
While the start to the Flat season has been delayed, it's rhythm doesn't look like being as unfamiliar as in the US, where the first Saturday in September has replaced the first Saturday in May as the slot for the Kentucky Derby.
It's a long time to wait for the Run for the (presumably wilted) Roses, but the organisers of the iconic Louisville race can at least plan for the big day, something deprived to officials at Pimlico and Belmont, with no dates decided for the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, as a crown virus trumps the Triple Crown.
