In the buildup to the Kentucky Derby each spring, one of the most important questions each 3-year-old must answer is whether they can stretch out to 1 ¼ miles and thrive at what is considered to be the “classic” distance.
Author: News
Maryland Jockey Trevor McCarthy Recovered From Coronavirus, Returns To Saddle Thursday
Trevor McCarthy has endured his share of job-related injuries over the course of a 10-year riding career that has seen him win more than 1,500 races, four overall Maryland championships and 12 individual meet titles.
His latest setback came courtesy of a bout with coronavirus amid the ongoing pandemic that paused live racing in Maryland for 2 ½ months until May 30 and caused the early Aug. 14 closure of the Colonial Downs meet, where McCarthy was leading rider.
Back at full health and eager to return to riding, the 26-year-old McCarthy is named in six of nine races when live racing resumes at Laurel Park Thursday, Aug. 27. It will be his first action since going winless with two mounts Aug. 5 at Colonial.
McCarthy has ridden just 11 of the first 33 days of Laurel's extended summer meet and just once since June 27 – on July 17 – having spent most of the summer at Monmouth Park and Colonial. He still ranks eighth in the standings in both wins (15) and purses earned ($443,151).
“I've been back working out on my bicycle and back on my Equicizer, getting ready to gear up and get back to the races. We're looking forward to it,” McCarthy, engaged to fellow rider Katie Davis, said. “We've been trapped in the house for [two weeks] and it's been something else. We're excited to get back.”
McCarthy said he first began feeling ill Aug. 8, enough to cancel his morning workout and evening riding assignments the following day at Colonial and urge Davis to do the same.
“I woke up in the middle of the night and I felt terrible,” McCarthy said. “I said to Katie, 'We're not going anywhere.' She said, 'What do you mean?' and I said, 'I feel terrible. I feel like I'm really, really sick.'
“She kind of looked at me like 'are you serious,' and I was like, 'We're not leaving the house,'” he added. “We were just very cautious and right then and there I made the decision. I was just thinking more about everybody else than myself at that time. It was the right move, and Katie couldn't go as well because she's been around me even though she didn't have any symptoms. It wouldn't be smart to have had her go without me.”
McCarthy said he experienced symptoms over the next 48 hours that felt like a severe flu and kept him housebound until he was able to get checked out Aug. 11. It was then that his worst fear was confirmed.
“I was sick for like two days. More like flu – fever, headache, I had the chills, a runny nose. Finally the third day I felt so much better so I went and got tested and that's when I found out I was positive,” McCarthy said. “Katie was negative, so it was really strange that day. We just went back home and I did my quarantining. It was only about five days total that I felt really bad. I lost my taste and smell for one day. Two days were really strong and then the three days after that were like a small cold I was just kind of getting over.”
Having heard and read stories about COVID-19 cases where people experienced extreme symptoms, McCarthy said he didn't expect to get a positive result for the virus.
“I went into the test kind of confident that I wasn't going to have it because I kind of whacked this thing out in two days and I was feeling so much better on the third day. Hearing from everybody else, it's a week-long drag where you're really sick,” McCarthy said. “So, when I knocked it out in two days I thought it was just a bug or a small virus or flu. They ended up testing me for the flu, as well, and I was negative, and I was positive for the coronavirus. It was really weird and I guess it just hits people differently.
“After those five, six days I was fine. It was weird,” he added. “Katie eventually showed a little bit of symptoms, nothing as severe as mine, just stuffy nose and she lost her taste and smell. But she wasn't anywhere close to how sick I got. It was strange.”
McCarthy credited his career and active lifestyle with helping to curtail the most serious symptoms of coronavirus as well as lessen its duration.
“I think it has a lot to do with being an athlete, being young, being in good shape, and having a healthy diet. When I had symptoms, our local farmer's market delivered groceries to our house. We just kept eating our strong diet, all natural foods and trying to give ourselves the best nutrition and keep our immune systems up,” he said. “I drank a lot of Pedialyte, hot tea, lots of water and kept on my diet. After five or six days, I was back to normal.”
All jockeys coming from the Colonial meet, including other Maryland regulars such as Davis, Forest Boyce and Jorge Ruiz, are required to serve a 14-day quarantine period from Aug. 13 and have a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours in hand to return to ride at Laurel, with Aug. 27 being the first eligible day. McCarthy said he is scheduled to be re-tested Aug. 24.
“I haven't had any symptoms lately,” he said. “It's just a part of what's going on in this world right now. I've got to follow the rules and that's it. There's not much more we can do.”
McCarthy is excited about the upcoming calendar in Maryland. Laurel is scheduled to host nine $100,000 stakes over Labor Day weekend including the Federico Tesio for 3-year-olds and Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies Sept. 7. Both races are automatic qualifiers for the Preakness (G1) and Black-Eyed Susan (G2), respectively, rescheduled for Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course.
“It should be a real exciting fall meet. It's going to be great,” McCarthy said. “It seems like they're going to have a nice weekend the first part of September and then you're always looking forward to Preakness time and Maryland Million time, as well. It should be a fun fall meet.”
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Maryland Thoroughbred Hall of Fame Inductees Selected
Eclipse champions Heavenly Cause and What a Summer have been inducted into the Maryland-bred Thoroughbred Hall of Fame.
The selections were made by a committee of Maryland racing industry members coordinated by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and Maryland Racing Media Association.
“These two great mares deserve their place of honor among our Hall of Fame horses. They were the product of dedicated Maryland breeders who were rewarded with great champions,” said Cricket Goodall, executive director of Maryland Horse Breeders Association.
What a Summer, a two-time GII Fall Highweight H. winner over males, was the Eclipse Award-winning champion sprinter of 1977. Five-time Grade I heroine Heavenly Cause was the top 2-year-old filly in the nation in 1980 and added the GI Kentucky Oaks the following term.
“Our latest class of Hall of Famers, both Eclipse champions, speaks to the depth and quality of the Maryland breeding program over many years,” said Maryland Racing Media Association president Frank Vespe. “It’s remarkable how many deserving horses we’ve named to the Hall of Fame – and how many we still have to name.”
The newest honorees, with biographies, photos, videos and complete race records, are showcased on-line at www.mdthoroughbredhalloffame.com.
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John Lies To Pinch Hit For Larry Collmus In Final Four Days Of Del Mar Season
John Lies, a seasoned race caller who has worked at Del Mar since 2007 in different capacities, will take over the mic for the final four days of the current summer season as Larry Collmus, who has been pinch-hitting since opening day for regular announcer Trevor Denman, heads off to Kentucky to prepare for his annual role with NBC as the race caller for the Kentucky Derby.
Lies (pronounced “Lees”) has called races at locations around the U.S., including 10-year stints at both Lone Star Park in Texas and Kentucky Downs, as well as at his current jobs at Will Rogers Downs and Fair Meadows Tulsa in Oklahoma.
Collmus, a nationally-known announcer who has worked at racing venues around the country and has been the voice of the Triple Crown since 2011, stepped up and in at Del Mar when Denman, Del Mar's caller since 1984, told the track he was going to stay home in Minnesota this summer in light of the COVID-19 situation. In his role as a “pinch hitter,” Collmus' professionalism and enthusiasm have shone through at the seaside oval since he took up the mic on July 10.
Collumus will call his final Del Mar card on Monday, August 31 and then head off for his assignment at the delayed Kentucky Derby scheduled for Saturday, September 5. Lies will call the four remaining programs of Del Mar's 81st summer season – September 4, 5, 6 and the Labor Day finale on September 7.
Lies, 43, was born in Long Beach, CA, but grew up mostly in the San Diego area. His father was a trainer and young John's racing interests found him imitating the calls of his hero, Denman, accent and all. When he met the South African caller at the age of 9 at Del Mar, a friendship was formed and his role as hero/mentor all but ensured that young Lies had found his calling.
Besides his full-time announcing jobs, Lies estimates he has guest announced at a dozen tracks nationally, including twice at Del Mar. Additionally, the savvy racetrack veteran has filled many different roles at various venues around the country. At Del Mar he's been its simulcast signal announcer since 2007, has worked in its racing office since 2013 and this year took over the job of morning line maker. At both Will Rogers Downs and Fair Meadows Tulsa he is the announcer, the racing secretary and the morning line maker.
Denman has told Del Mar officials that he plans on returning to his regular role at the track with the start of its fall season on October 31.
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