LEXINGTON, Ky. – Five jockeys in the past week have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, raising fears that the virus has gained an invisible hold in the U.S. riding community and leading racetracks to pursue additional measures to stop the spread.

Four of the five riders who have tested positive did so after riding on the same card at Los Alamitos in Orange County on July 4, while the fifth rode at Los Alamitos on July 3. Four of those riders then fanned out across the country to ride elsewhere, including tracks in Indiana, Kentucky, New York, and Southern California.

New York Racing Association president and CEO Dave O’Rourke sat in his office at Belmont Park last Saturday and contemplated what a Saratoga summer would be like with no fans in the stands.

TVG, the horseracing television network and account-wagering company, will be available in high-definition on Charter Communication’s Spectrum service by the end of September, the company announced on Friday.

The Whitney Stakes, the Pacific Classic Stakes, and England’s Juddmonte International will again offer each of the winners an all-expenses-paid spot in the field of the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic this year, the Breeders’ Cup announced on Wednesday.

The three Grade 1 races offering berths in the Classic are among the 16 races that are scheduled to be held in August that Breeders’ Cup has designated as part of its “Challenge Series.” Races in the challenge series award the winners with a free spot in the field of one of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races, along with travel stipends.

Miguel Delgado, whose career in racing spanned some 35 years, was killed Saturday in an automobile accident in Lexington, Ky. He was 53.

Delgado, a native of Mexico, had worked as an assistant since 2016 for trainer Bill Morey, moving from his longtime base of Southern California to Kentucky only in recent times, Morey said.

“This is such a tragic event,” Morey said. “The whole team is just devastated.”

ELMONT, N.Y. – Though Wednesday was a dark day on this circuit, Manny Franco was at Belmont Park bright and early on a beautiful summer morning. Franco was on-site to climb aboard his 3-year-old Tiz the Law for the first time since he won the abbreviated Belmont Stakes here June 20.

Frank Alexander, who trained horses for close to 40 years before retiring in 2012, died June 26 from kidney failure, according to his wife, Linda. He was 82 years old.

Alexander, who served in the U.S. Air Force from 1957-61, opened his own business on Long Island in 1961. He bought and sold hunters, showed horses, and instructed riders.

In 1963, he went to work as an assistant to trainer Mike Freeman in New York. After a few years training on and off on his own, he went to Maryland to manage Sagamore Farm for Alfred G. Vanderbilt for four years.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Donnie Seymour, one of the most successful jockeys in Canadian racing history, died at his home north of Toronto on Friday at age 59.

Seymour rode two Canadian Triple Crown winners, With Approval in 1989 and Izvestia in 1990. Owned by Kinghaven Farm and trained by Roger Attfield, With Approval and Izvestia both earned Canadian Horse of the Year honors. Seymour also piloted another Canadian Horse of the Year for Kinghaven Farm and Attfield, Play the King in 1988, the year they finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

12:00 GP 1st LYRICAL (#5, 4-1) had to take up hard near inside into far turn in debut now drops to more suitable spot. Expect big improvement. -Mike Welsch

1:00 WO 1st MAJESTIC MELODY (#2, 10-1) wasn’t an impact player in his two April starts on the dirt at Tampa, but he worked a bullet from the gate on the Tapeta the other day and could come to the forefront in what’s essentially his third race off a long layoff. His trainer has scored with two Florida shippers at this young meet. -Ron Gierkink

Gouverneur Morris is off the Triple Crown trail and most likely done for the year after suffering a case of colitis, Barry Irwin, president of Team Valor International, which is part-owner of the colt, said Thursday.

Gouverneur Morris had been at the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland since last week, being treated for a leg infection. On Monday, the horse was transferred to the Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center in Ringoes, N.J., with severe diarrhea. He also had issues with his feet.