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NYRA Releases Jockey Protocols For Aqueduct’s Fall Meet

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Saturday COVID-19 health and safety protocols for jockeys during the 18-day Aqueduct fall meet, which will open on Friday, Nov. 6 and run through Sunday, Dec. 6. The Aqueduct fall meet will be highlighted by 29 stakes, including 11 graded events, worth $3.41 million in purse money.

Opening weekend of the Aqueduct fall meet, which coincides with the Breeders' Cup set for Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course, begins with the $100,000 Tempted for juvenile fillies and $80,000 Atlantic Beach for juvenile turf sprinters on Nov. 6. Following opening weekend, live racing will be conducted Thursday through Sunday with the exception of Thanksgiving Week, when live racing will not be offered on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26.

Members of the Aqueduct jockey colony who travel to ride at any other racetrack during the Aqueduct fall meet will be required to provide two negative COVID-19 tests taken within a 5-day window in order to return to ride at Aqueduct. Jockeys traveling out of state who have completed the required testing will then be physically isolated in the jockey quarters for three additional calendar days.

Jockeys not currently riding at NYRA who wish to join the Aqueduct jockey colony for the beginning of the Aqueduct fall meet must contact NYRA's Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Martin Panza or Aqueduct Racing Secretary Keith Doleshel by Wednesday, Nov. 11. Newcomers to the NYRA jockey colony will be required to provide two negative COVID-19 tests taken within the 5-day window preceding that jockey's first mount at Aqueduct.

In order to mitigate risk and reduce the spread of COVID-19, Aqueduct will be closed to out-of-town jockeys not considered members of the regular NYRA jockey colony.

All testing must be performed in New York state.

In addition to race day safety protocols which include standard health screening and temperature checks, the jockey quarters at Aqueduct have been substantially altered to provide maximum social distancing and reduce density. All areas accessed by jockeys during the regular course of a race day are closed to outside personnel, including credentialed media, and are cleaned and disinfected throughout the day.

Jockeys are not permitted access to the barn area at Belmont Park. In order to work a horse in the morning, the jockey must meet the horse in the paddock and may then proceed to the main track for as long as the main track remains open.

Jockey agents arriving from outside of New York must produce a negative COVID-19 test in order to gain access to the barn area at Belmont Park. Races will continue to be drawn via Zoom.

All valets must provide a negative COVID-19 test taken any time after Nov. 2 in order to access the jockey quarters on opening day, Nov. 6. Valets who choose to only saddle horses in the paddock and not enter the jockey quarters will be allowed in the Belmont Park barn area.

America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the Aqueduct fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks.

For the complete stakes schedule for the Aqueduct fall meet, please visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule

The post NYRA Releases Jockey Protocols For Aqueduct’s Fall Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Maryland Jockey Club Announces Strict Jockey Protocols For Preakness Weekend

The Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday strict protocols for jockeys intending to ride during Preakness weekend, Oct. 1-3, at Pimlico Race Course.

A total of 16 stakes, nine graded, worth $3.35 million in purses will be offered during the three-day span that closes the abbreviated Preakness Meet at Pimlico, highlighted by the 145th running of the Preakness Stakes (G1) Saturday, Oct. 3.

All jockeys intending to ride during the weekend must arrive at Pimlico's drive-up COVID-19 testing site located just outside of the Hayward Avenue stable gate no later than 72 hours prior to their first riding assignment:

Monday, Sept. 28 by 10 a.m. for the Thursday, Oct. 1 program
Tuesday, Sept. 29 by 10 a.m. for the Friday, Oct. 2 program
Wednesday, Sept. 30 by 10 a.m. for the Saturday, Oct. 3 program

Jockeys' room personnel, designated officials and designated racing personnel must visit the Pimlico drive-up testing site on Saturday, Sept. 26 or Monday, Sept. 28 by 10 a.m. Included are all starting gate crew, valets, outriders, escort pony personnel and racing officials that must access the jockeys' room.

Pimlico's drive-up testing site will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting Sunday, Sept. 27 and running through Wednesday, Sept. 30. Samples collected before 10 a.m. will have results by 9 a.m. the following day. Samples collected after 10 a.m. will be tested the following day.

All jockeys coming to Maryland from out of state will be required to leave Pimlico after being tested and self-isolate until notified of their test results. Those with negative results will be instructed to return to Pimlico for a wristband indicating their status and which barn area they are allowed to access.

Jockeys with positive results will be directed not to enter the grounds at Pimlico and may be referred to the local MedStar Health medical director for clinical evaluation.

Access to the jockeys' room is limited to riders and their valets, jockeys' room officials and staff and designated essential personnel. Only jockeys scheduled to ride on the current day's program will be permitted entry.

All jockeys, valets and officials will have their temperatures taken daily and must demonstrate fair health before entering the jockeys' room. Any jockey or official showing signs of illness will be denied access. Jockeys that display mild cold-like symptoms may be referred to MedStar for evaluation.

Additional jockeys' quarters have been established to ensure social distancing. Female riders will utilize their same area adjacent to the Pimlico paddock, while male riders will be relocated to the second-floor clubhouse with split facilities for local and out-of-town jockeys. The jockeys' room sauna will remain closed.

All jockeys are required to wear gloves, including during races, and are required to change to clean gloves with each race. Face coverings must be worn at all times over the mouth and nose while in the jockeys' room. Jockeys, valets and officials are not allowed to gather or loiter in the room or jockey areas between races or before and after the race card.

Every employee, jockey, official and horseman are required to maintain social distancing strategies at all times, both within and outside of training and racing hours. The Maryland Department of Health recommends any Marylander returning from out of state or any out-of-state visitors to get tested for COVID-19 promptly upon arrival in or within 72 hours before travel to Maryland.

The post Maryland Jockey Club Announces Strict Jockey Protocols For Preakness Weekend appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Keeneland Outlines Jockey Protocols for Fall Meet

Keeneland released COVID-19 procedures for jockeys who will ride during the 17-day Fall Meet, running from Oct. 2-24.

Jockey COVID-19 testing protocols:

Jockeys who plan to ride opening day (Oct. 2) will be required to be in Lexington Tuesday, Sept. 29 and receive a COVID-19 test at Keeneland.
Jockeys who plan to ride at Keeneland after opening day will need to provide a CDC gold standard RT-PCR COVID-19 nasopharyngeal test confirmed negative within 72 hours of the day of their first race.
A jockey who races at Keeneland and leaves Kentucky will be required to provide a CDC gold standard RT-PCR COVID-19 nasopharyngeal test confirmed negative within 72 hours of the day of the next race in which he or she plans to ride at Keeneland.
In addition to the main jockeys quarters, Keeneland will maintain five additional jockeys quarters that permit riders to be sequestered. These spaces will be organized around specific geographic areas where the jockeys customarily ride, including New York, California, other U.S. jurisdictions, international jurisdictions and overflow from the main jockey quarters for Kentucky-based riders.
Except for valets and the clerk of scales, no additional personnel will be permitted in any jockeys quarters.

General jockey protocols at Keeneland:

Social distancing is required at all times.
Masks/face coverings are required at all times except when riding in a race or a timed workout in the morning. This includes when the rider is in the jockeys quarters, in the paddock before a race, while being ponied to post and after the race when returning to the jockeys quarters.
Jockeys will be provided with face coverings.
Valets, assistant starters, outriders and pony people will be required to wear masks/face coverings throughout the day as will everyone who is on the grounds.
When visiting the paddock before a race, jockeys are prohibited from making physical contact aside from a leg up from the trainer or a member of his or her staff.
Jockeys are prohibited from visiting barns in the stable area in the mornings. A rider will only be able to visit the apron area of the main track, the area outside the Racing Office by the gap or the paddock. Visits to the Rice Road barn area also are off limits to jockeys.
If a jockey wishes to exercise a horse in the morning, he or she will need to meet that mount in the paddock, exercise the horse then dismount upon exiting the track.
All jockeys will be able to ride with a +3 pound weight allowance because the sauna/steam will be closed.
Boxed lunches will be provided, but no a la carte options are available.
Jockeys and valets will be allowed to bring their own food items.
All jockeys quarters will be sanitized throughout the day and receive another deep cleaning each evening after the rooms are vacated. The products Keeneland is using to disinfect the entire facility is a combination including BioProtect, EvaClean/Puretabs and P&G’s Spic and Span– all of which are EPA-registered.
Keeneland will do a deep sanitization of the starting gate before the Fall Meet using the aforementioned BioProtect product, which is a disinfectant and provides 90 days of long-term antimicrobial protection (to immediately kill any COVID-19 particles that come into contact with the starting gate). The same product will be used in the jockeys quarters for the utmost protection of all surfaces after they have been treated.
Jockeys are to enter Keeneland through Gate 2 on Versailles Road. They will use the track’s South Gate entrance next to the Welcome Center to enter the grounds. Once entries are drawn, their names will be put on a list to be able to access the Keeneland grounds and facility. Once the overnight is released, Clerk of Scales Javier Torres will decide which jockeys quarters they will use.

Jockeys will undergo the same medical checks as everyone coming through the Keeneland gates. This will include a temperature check as well as medical screening questions.

The post Keeneland Outlines Jockey Protocols for Fall Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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MJC Extends Quarantine Policy for Jockeys

Pending further developments in ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, officials at the Maryland Jockey Club have announced that its existing jockey quarantine policy will remain in place through September.

Jockeys that are currently riding out of state and come to Maryland racetracks are required to quarantine for 14 days from their return from another state and must produce a negative COVID test obtained within 72 hours of riding a race in Maryland.

Racing on the Maryland circuit continues at Laurel Park, which will host the state’s first stakes races since the pandemic began Sept. 5 and Labor Day, Sept. 7. The summer meet continues through Sept. 19. There will be no racing this year at the Maryland State Fairgrounds at Timonium. Pimlico will stage three days of racing Oct. 1-3, featuring the final leg of this year’s reconstituted Triple Crown, the GI Preakness S. on closing day.

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