Pimlico sets Preakness week coronavirus protocols for jockeys
Jockeys who intend to ride at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore during the upcoming three-day Preakness Stakes meet will need to get tested at the track for coronavirus 72 hours prior to being allowed to ride, according to protocols the track has distributed to riders and their agents.
Pimlico is requiring the riders to get swabbed at an ontrack facility by 10 a.m. on each of three days 72 hours prior to the corresponding live cards being held at the track Oct. 1-3. The swabs are being sent each day by courier to a laboratory in New Jersey for fast results, according to Sal Sinatra, vice president of racing at Pimlico and its sister track, Laurel Park.
This year’s Preakness Stakes has been rescheduled for Oct. 3, five weeks prior to the Breeders’ Cup event at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky. Spectators will not be allowed on the grounds for the race due to the coronavirus pandemic, a policy that also was in place for the Belmont Stakes in June and the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.
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Sinatra said that jockeys who have tested positive for coronavirus within the last 90 days will be allowed to ride at Pimlico without a new test, provided that the riders submit a letter from their doctors saying that they have subsequently tested negative for the virus. Available data highly suggests that individuals who have already had the virus are immune for at least six months after testing positive.
Pimlico also is requiring all jockeys’ room personnel and “designated officials and racing personnel” to get swabbed at the track’s drive-up testing site on Sept. 27 or Sept. 28, prior to 10 a.m, according to the protocols. All personnel at the track on live racing days will be required to maintain social-distancing requirements and wear masks.
“Participants exhibiting poor distancing or isolation judgements may be promptly removed from participation in live racing and training activities,” the guidelines state.