Pat McKenna

Saratoga Race Course's jockey safety protocols and travel restrictions that were established July 14 will remain in place throughout the end of the meeting. It was announced earlier Friday morning that Churchill Downs will be requiring that all jockeys be in the state by Aug. 31 who will be riding in the GI Kentucky Derby. "The NYRA policy instituted on July 14 to address jockey travel and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 will remain in place through the end of the 2020 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course," Pat McKenna,...

On Mar. 19, the New York Racing Association suspended racing for an undetermined period after a backstretch worker tested positive for COVID-19, which left New York horsemen scrambling to adjust and come up with Plan B for themselves, their horses and their staff. Nine days later--following the announcement that Aqueduct had been approved as a temporary hospital site--NYRA announced that the rest of the Aqueduct winter meet would be canceled and the Ozone Park oval would not host its traditional spring meet, headlined by the GII Wood Memorial S. "On...