Woodbine closes barn due to COVID-19 outbreak among workers

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson acknowledged Friday that a COVID-19 outbreak among workers in Barn 33 at Woodbine has led to the horses being shipped out of that barn temporarily.

“We closed one barn, and all of the personnel in that barn are now quarantining,” Lawson said. “There are other barns that have had positive ‘Covids’ in them. We’re stepping up and taking measures as it relates to those barns.”

Lawson said medical masks will now be mandatory and will be given to those who don’t have them when they enter the backstretch. The push for backstretch employees to get vaccinated will continue.

“We’re going into a critical period here for the next few weeks, until we can get [everybody] vaccinated,” Lawson said. “We’ve taken every measure that we can, and we’ll get through this.”

The 2021 Woodbine meet was postponed from its scheduled April 17 opening due to a province-wide stay-at-home order declared by the Ontario government that was recently extended from May 6 to May 20. The stay-at-home order was initiated because of a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases with variants during the third wave of the pandemic, which has outpaced the rate of vaccinations. Training and timed workouts have continued at Woodbine.

Woodbine hopes to begin racing when the stay-at-home horse is lifted, but Lawson said there are no guarantees that will be the case when the time comes.

“I’m afraid to speculate in terms of dates,” Lawson said. “The stay-at-home order is scheduled to expire May 20, but we don’t know if that will be extended. It’s really hard to predict. We will get back racing. A lot depends on the variants. It feels like the numbers are starting to plateau in Toronto. With the vaccines coming, there is hope on the horizon.”

The Ontario HBPA announced Friday that purse re-allocation money for owners has been approved. It will come from the long-term funding agreement between horsemen and the provincial government. Funding in the amount of $1,125 per horse will be awarded to owners whose horses meet the criteria.