Pets

Every major sport in America has been shut down -- except one -- horse racing, which is alive and thriving in multiple states across the country, TMZ Sports has learned.

We've confirmed tracks are operating in Florida, California, Arkansas and Oklahoma -- though we're told ALL of the tracks are not allowing fans to enter the facilities.

The reason? Gamblers.

In short, the races are still being streamed online and through various broadcast partners, so people stuck at home can still bet on the ponies!

In Florida, both the Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park have a "no spectator" policy -- and have ordered all staffers to wear masks and gloves while practicing social distancing.

A rep for Gulfstream tells us, medical personnel are screening jockeys on the way into the track, taking temperatures and looking for COVID-19 symptoms.

Plus, we're told any jockey or horse that comes to race from another state must complete a 14-day quarantine before they are allowed to compete.

In California, the Los Alamitos track is closed to the public -- but racing on Friday through Sunday with only "essential staff permitted inside the facility."

Shocking considering California has essentially locked down the state for all, but essential businesses. Still, the horses run.

In Arkansas ... the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort shut down their casino but has allowed the track to continue to function. Again, no spectators.

In fact, the $200,000 Oaklawn Stakes is still scheduled to take place on Saturday.

In Oklahoma ... Remington Park is running too, but they note they're "closed to the public."

We spoke with a rep for the Jockey's Guild who tell us they support the tracks staying open -- explaining, "Its important horses get training and exercise."

"It's very important. Protocols are in place. It's best for the horses and the industry to keep going."

Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas are still getting out for fresh air during the pandemic, but they're making sure to follow proper face covering guidelines while their pups get some exercise.

Ben and his new Hollywood girlfriend were spotted out for a stroll in L.A. again this week -- in between rain showers -- but this time they were wearing masks to protect themselves and others from potential coronavirus exposure.

As we reported ... they were also seen on a romantic walk a couple weeks ago, but a lot's changed since then. For starters, the importance of face coverings is now being stressed by the CDC to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Secondly, it seems the couple has added another dog to their quarantine outings. They're still packing on the PDA, though ... so stay-at-home life together must be going pretty well.

Ben and Ana met on the set of the film "Deep Water" and have been getting very close lately, beginning when they were first spotted hanging out in Ana's native country of Cuba.

Then, when Ben was seen playing the perfect Instagram boyfriend a little while later ... ya knew things were getting real.

Good doggy. Bad defense.

Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young made it look like his french bulldog, Normi, was sliding on ice Monday ... crossing up his baby girl in a hilarious driveway dribble sesh.

Of course, 21-year-old Ice Trae is known for making defenders look like straight-up fools on the court (remember THIS, Andre Iguodala?) ... but picked a more lovable opponent to be his next victim.

The video is great ... Young even taps the ball on Normi's head to officially check the ball ... then it's all Trae from there.

"The Best Defender I’ve ever been up against," Young joked on Instagram.

Young has been trying to be creative during quarantine ... and even did a trick shot challenge with his socks to pass the time. Nice to see his shot isn't getting rusty, either.

Doc Antle, former mentor to Joe Exotic, says his animals in Myrtle Beach are safe from the coronavirus, and they've been that way since long before a Bronx Zoo tiger tested positive ... and Carole Baskin's confident her Big Cat Rescue felines are fine too.

Doc, who, of course, was one of the 3 stars of 'Tiger King,' tells TMZ ... his Myrtle Beach Safari is a much different setup from that of the Bronx Zoo. He says he and his 25 employees all live onsite, making for a much more controlled and self-isolated environment.

He says he put his facility on lockdown immediately after the government released guidelines to stay at home and practice social distancing. Doc says his staff has been under strict quarantine since then. No visitors or physical contact with outside groups allowed.

While we humans have had "wash your hands" drilled into our heads ... Doc says his big cats are also bathed and cleaned regularly. He adds, specific caretakers are assigned to the animals, and that doesn't change ... thereby limiting potential exposure to the coronavirus.

If one of his big kitties somehow contracts COVID-19, Doc says it will be treated like a person and placed in self-isolation for 14 days to keep it from spreading it to other animals. Still, he says there's a very low chance of that.

Joe's nemesis, Carole Baskin is equally confident about the well-being of the animals at her tiger rescue outside of Tampa. Folks down there tell us they're monitoring the animals closely and none have shown any symptoms.

The coronavirus pandemic could wreak havoc in a frightening new way, because your house pets could be at risk of coming down with COVID-19.

An expert at the National Institute of Health tells TMZ ... while people might be worried about catching the coronavirus from their pets, it's actually the other way around, and the potential for humans to infect animals is being way overlooked.

It's pretty alarming ... we're told cats and ferrets are most likely to be infected with COVID-19 from humans. For dog owners, we're told preliminary studies show canines are less likely to contract the virus. However, as we reported, 2 dogs in Hong Kong did test positive.

While data is limited on the effects of COVID-19 on animals ... we're told scientists are drawing conclusions from past viruses. Data from the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic shows humans infected a wide range of animals including dogs, cats, tigers and cheetahs.

In all cases of swine flu in animals, scientists say it appeared the critters were infected by direct transmission of the virus from humans in the same household. So, a similar conclusion is being drawn with the coronavirus.

We're told it's hard to know whether COVID-19 would be fatal in pets -- however, one glimmer of hope ... influenza is generally not lethal.

Before you panic, the NIH expert we spoke to is NOT advising you get rid of your pets -- but instead said owners showing coronavirus symptoms should avoid their pets.

If you insist on being with your pet, or have a service animal, we're told owners should wear a mask. Same goes for zoo or lab employees around animals. Remember, a Bronx Zoo tiger just tested positive, and officials believe the virus was passed from a handler.

Important to note the CDC has said there's no evidence Fido or Fluffly can transmit the virus to humans.

Chicago's regularly-scheduled cat wave is about to be too big to handle due to coronavirus -- too many strays are out there with their nuts intact, which means too many damn kittens!

A grassroots, animal-friendly community in Chi-Town called Chicago Community Cats tells TMZ ... the rescues and shelters they normally take stray and feral cats to around this time of year to get spayed and neutered are closed because of COVID-19. That spells trouble.

Of course, it means there's nowhere to take the fierce and the furry, who aren't going to stop sexing each other up anytime soon because of some pesky virus humans fear.

BTW, there's about 200k strays running around in Chicago, and if even a fraction are unneutered/un-spayed ... well, you can do the math. In fact, CCC says they usually help fix at least 3,000 cats right about now, so there's AT LEAST that many on the prowl.

We're told the fear now among the cat lovers in the Windy City is that there'll be a rampant kitten spree in the months to come and by the time the places they need open now eventually wake back up ... it'll be too late. They say they're already getting calls about litters springing up in different neighborhoods, so it's already happening in bunches.

CCC says if this reality comes to full fruition, they'll have to work even harder than normal to try to find foster homes and new owners willing to adopt. And, yes, it could also lead to a pretty grim reality for a lot of those cats that are left hanging in the balance afterward.

A tiger housed at New York City's Bronx Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19, which makes it the first-known animal in the U.S. to have contracted coronavirus.

The Wildlife Conservation Society -- which runs the facility and cares for the animals at the zoo -- made the announcement Sunday, saying a 4-year-old Malayan female tiger named Nadia has tested positive for the disease, which up until recently mostly affected just humans. The diagnosis was confirmed by the USDA's National Veterinary Services Lab.

The org adds other animals of theirs that have shown COVID-19 symptoms of late, including three other tigers and four lions, which have developed a dry cough, but all of which are expected to fully recover. Presumably, those other big cats will get tested too.

The Malayan tiger marks the first U.S-based animal case of coronavirus and the first case in a tiger anywhere in the world. Different animals -- including at least a couple dogs -- in China have reportedly contracted COVID-19, but it hasn't gotten to our furry domesticated friends ... or at least as far as we know.

It's pretty frightening ... and just goes to show the virus can, indeed, spread and adapt fairly rapidly. With this in mind, we imagine people will start having major convos about how to deal with the animal kingdom ... as that's a whole other swab of potential patients we'd have to care for on top of all the people already infected.

BTW, the Bronx Zoo has been closed since March 16 -- and, as you might know, NYC is considered the epicenter of coronavirus cases here in the States. Scary stuff ...

Santa Monica parks are no longer filled with humans ... they're being overrun by a gaggle of squirrels ... and the video is absolutely NUTS!!!

Check out the furry little critters chilling out and catching some rays in the parks along the world-famous Santa Monica Beach ... the squirrels definitely seem way more relaxed and comfortable now that tourists and locals are nowhere to be found.

Most people are just staying indoors to prevent the spread of the coronavirus ... allowing these squirrels to roam free without a care in the world.

Seriously ... have you ever seen squirrels out in force like this before?!?

The squirrel scene is reminiscent of what we've already seen over in Wales, where an entire town is being overrun by goats as humans shelter-in-place.

The dog walking community is hurting across the country -- almost everyone with a leash-for-hire is losing customers under the pandemic ... and it's forcing some of them to get adventurous.

Dog walking companies in L.A., NYC, San Francisco and Seattle all tell us the same thing -- business is tanking, down as much as 50% in some places ... and some have shut down altogether.

One of those is The Dog Walking Network in NYC. Manger Megan O'Leary says business dropped from 120 walks per day to just 30 before they suspended services last week ... after 11 successful years.

In Seattle, an early COVID-19 hot zone, Seattle4Dogs founder Mark Little tells TMZ ... he wasn't comfortable putting his workers at risk so he shut down on March 20 after 17 years in the biz.

Likewise, Hang Around Hound in San Fran, had to layoff 6 employees when it shut down on March 16. Owner Theresa Hedgepeth says several of her 400 clients have autoimmune disorders ... so she felt "reckless bringing their dogs to different neighborhoods when we didn't completely understand the risk."

Some dog walkers are taking precautions to ease the minds of owners worried about their own exposure and their dog's. For instance, Antonio Alfaro in L.A. only takes pups to Topanga Canyon for walks.

It's off the beaten path with relatively few people ... so there's less reason for his 120 clients to be concerned.

Wag! -- a bigger, national company -- is practicing social distancing for pickups and drop-offs, plus masks and gloves for all of their walkers. Based on pics Wag! walkers continue to post, they're rolling along just fine.

BTW, dog walking isn't specifically listed as an "essential business" under most state guidelines -- however, many include pet boarding.

And, for any owners concerned their dogs could possibly carry coronavirus if they go out -- the CDC says there's no evidence regular household pets are carriers.

These stars are surviving the isolation and social distancing with a little help from man's best friend ... and their furry friends don't seem to mind the extra attention!

Celebs such as Emily Ratajkowski, Finneas O'Connell, Brody Jenner, and Natalie Portman have been cooped up inside like the rest of us, and have been passing the time by hanging out with their four-legged pets.

Take a look at some of the stars that have been sharing their cutest canine moments with their fur babies by scrolling through our gallery of stars self-isolating with their pets.