COVID | Horse Racing Free Tips

Cornell Vet School Turning Into COVID-19 Emergency Testing Lab

Cornell University will repurpose part of its Veterinary College to help with COVID-19 testing. Cornell received approval from New York State to repurpose their Animal Health Diagnostic Center into an on-campus viral testing lab for students.

The program was implemented to reduce pressure on other testing sites. The program at Cornell is designed to test people when they arrive on campus, as well as to test people who feel ill or who have been exposed to COVID-19. This testing will be done in addition to surveillance testing; all testing will be done in collaboration with Cayuga Medical Center and Tompkins County Health Department.

It was noted that Cornell has a low prevalence of COVID-19 on campus: 0.2 percent of those tested have been positive for COVID-19. This is significantly lower than the 1.1 percent of people in New York who have tested positive.

Cornell plans to use the lab to test students once or twice per week. It is unclear if the lab will test people who are not students at the University. If students test positive for COVID-19, the university will work with the Tompkins County Health Department to assist with contact tracing and quarantining.

The nasopharyngeal swab will be used for arrival testing, but surveillance testing will use front-of-nostril samples. This type of testing is less invasive and can be used to test a high volume of samples quickly.

2020 American Eventing Championships Cancelled

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) and Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI) have made the extremely difficult decision to cancel the 2020 edition of the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds. The USEA Board of Governors weighed every option, but ultimately voted not to proceed to host the national championships due to the health and safety concerns of holding a national competition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Canceling the AEC is devastating for so many who have worked so hard to get to this point,” said USEA CEO Rob Burk. “With riders coming from 41 states we could not ignore the geographic pull of this event and the implications of that. The immense amount of uncertainty caused by recent cancellations of similar-sized events at the Kentucky Horse Park weighed heavily on the USEA leadership.”

“If the AEC had moved forward, I am confident that our team led by EEI, Mary Fike, and the USEA Staff would have put on a spectacular competition in as safe an atmosphere as is possible. Ultimately though the inability to guarantee that the event wouldn't be canceled by regional governments or other authorities left too much uncertainty. By canceling before the closing date for entries we are hopeful that riders can reroute to their local events which desperately need their support and are working incredibly hard to hold safe events. Over the next month, the USEA Board of Governors will look into the qualifications for the 2021 AEC to see what can be done for those that worked so hard to qualify in 2020.”

“The USEA Board of Governors held a lengthy discussion tonight and it was not an easy decision,” added USEA President Max Corcoran. “We have full faith in EEI, the Kentucky Horse Park, and the competitors themselves that we could run a safe competition, but ultimately we voted not to proceed. It's the horrible decision of what we want and what is right. The AEC is a national championships with competitors coming from 41 different states, and it is not in the best interest of our members to host such a geographically diverse competition during a global pandemic. I am very sad that we are not having the AEC this year, but in these uncertain times, we wanted to make the decision as far out as possible in order for people to plan accordingly. Not hosting the AEC will be a financial hit for both the USEA and EEI, but in the end, it is the right decision ethically for the staff, volunteers, officials, and competitors. I look forward to cheering you all on in Kentucky in 2021!”

“While canceling the 2020 AEC was a difficult decision, we know that the health and safety of our competitors far outweigh any event,” said EEI Executive Director Lee Carter. “USEA, EEI, and Mary Fike recognize that 2020 has created challenges for many organizations. Our hope and expectation are that in 2021 we will be stronger than ever. Until then . . . on we go!”

A Spotlight on Stress in the Era of COVID: Price Bell

Working in racing has always been a stressful occupation; a roller-coaster of emotions, triumphs and tragedies, long hours and travel. Add a global pandemic and unprecedented economic worry, with many participants fearing for their health, livelihoods and businesses, and the stress can become almost overwhelming. It’s the sort of topic many people don’t like to talk about, but we asked several industry participants to open about what particular stresses they were feeling during these very concerning times, and how they were dealing with them.

PRICE BELL, Mill Ridge Farm

We are very lucky. My godfather spent 20 days in the ICU due to COVID-19 and twice was presented DNR papers to sign, giving him 30 minutes to improve his oxygen saturation levels prior to intubating him.

He is home- still recovering, but home. He was diagnosed on March 16^th. We spoke on March 18^th and at that time, “it was not as bad as the flu, just more aggravating.” On March 20th he was admitted to the hospital, March 22nd the ICU and discharged home on April 12th. He is still recovering, but can now walk for 30 minutes. He played fullback for Coach Parcells at Vanderbilt, and on March 15th he was in the best shape of his life. We are lucky.

It is really hard. Like many, Beth and I both work full-time. Trying to excel in our professions, parent/teach/keep it on the rails with our two children (five and three) and have a relationship is impossible. The peace of two sleeping children is often our greatest victory.

Perspective, patience and community have been key to “handling” the stress of the pandemic.

Perspective that our health, the health of our team, the health of their families and the health of our families and loved ones is paramount.

Patience that we are all going through this together. We have to be patient with each other because it’s impossible to know if someone is up or down on the “coronacoaster.” I can’t say that I always have perspective and patience, but it’s something I am consciously working towards.

Our community has provided us with plenty of silver linings. We have felt great joy in sharing Mill Ridge on virtual tours, we have had many family picnics that never would have occurred because we would have been “too busy” in the past and we have forged relationships with plenty of neighbors with whom we would have normally only shared a passing hello. And, the love I felt at the outpouring of support when I tested positive for COVID-19 recently and had to isolate away from my family for 11 days. I was lucky and asymptomatic.

We will get through this and be stronger together.

Would you be willing to share your thoughts on stress during this particularly difficult time? Email the TDN’s Katie Ritz at katieritz@thetdn.com or Sue Finley at suefinley@thetdn.com.

The post A Spotlight on Stress in the Era of COVID: Price Bell appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Corona Virus Cancels National Children’s Riding Competition

Kentucky Horse Shows LLC and the US Equestrian Federation jointly released a statement that the last day of competition in the Kentucky Summer Classic was cancelled, as was the 2020 USEF Pony Finals presented by Collecting Gaits Farm event that was to start Tuesday. Four people tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing symptoms; two were from a barn that had travelled to the event and one other was a braider who had been in multiple barns.

The cancellation of competition will allow the competition organizer time to sanitize the venue and determine if competitions slated to go later in August are able to commence safely. Individuals who attended the competition have been notified of the positive test results. Show management is also asking those people who tested positive for a list of whom they were in close contact with from 48 hours before their symptoms arose so that those people might be notified directly of their potential exposure.

Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 within 14 days after a sanctioned competition must notify the competition organizer and US Equestrian.