Pletcher closing down Belmont stable until health crisis passes

Trainer Todd Pletcher is closing his Belmont Park stable for the foreseeable future in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down New York racing indefinitely.

“For the safety of our employees and to make sure horses are getting the proper care, we’ve decided to temporarily shut down our barn until this thing is over,” Pletcher said Tuesday from Florida where he has a large string of horses based at the Palm Beach Downs training center

According to NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna, there are now six confirmed cases of coronavirus on the backstretch of Belmont Park, as of Tuesday. Two people are recovering off the property, and four are in quarantine and isolated at Belmont Park, according to McKenna.

The first reported positive case was announced March 19 and prompted NYRA to announce that racing would be suspended indefinitely. NYRA has canceled the final six cards of the Aqueduct winter meet, which was scheduled to end Sunday. There are 13 scheduled cards at Aqueduct in April, but there is no official word yet on their status.

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Through Monday, New York had 25,665 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the most in the country, according to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. There are 2,869 confirmed cases in Nassau County, where Belmont Park is located.

Pletcher, a seven-time Eclipse Award winner, said he had 19 horses based at Belmont, but planned to have them all moved out by Wednesday. Some will be going to Palm Beach Downs, others to Pletcher’s father Jake’s farm in Ocala, Fla., and some will be heading to WinStar Farm in Kentucky. Horses owned by Barry Schwartz will be going to Schwartz’s New York farm, Pletcher said.

Pletcher, who won eight races from 50 starters at Aqueduct’s winter meet, said some horses he trained that are owned by Mike Repole will be staying at Belmont with trainer Rudy Rodriguez.

According to McKenna, “horses are free to leave” Belmont Park. However, NYRA is no longer accepting horses from other jurisdictions “except in unusual or pressing circumstances,” and those must be approved by Martin Panza, NYRA’s senior vice president of racing operations, McKenna said. Such a circumstance would include horses coming back from Dubai, such as Killybegs Captain, trained by Belmont-based John Terranova.

McKenna said that NYRA has implemented a number of safeguards recommended by its Preparedness and Response Plan Committee.

NYRA has contracted with multiple outside cleaning vendors following best practices established by the New York State Department of Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Access to the backstretch is restricted to Gate 6, and all workers – including licensed horsemen – that do no live on the backstretch are subject a standard health assessment including a temperature check.

NYRA has closed a number of common areas to horsemen, including the recreation center, the Morning Line cafe and another track kitchen, and the clockers’ stand at the training track.

The Morning Line cafe and the other track kitchen are providing grab-and-go food options to align with guidance from the New York State Department of Health.

While clockers are permitted in the clockers’ stand, horsemen are encouraged to watch training trackside while observing social-distancing guidelines.