Owners get OK to watch their horses run
Approval comes one day before Saratoga opener
Less than 24 hours before the first race of the Saratoga season, thoroughbred owners got the news they had been waiting for. A limited number of them will be allowed to see their horses run during the 40day meet that begins on Thursday.
The question now is: What took the New York State Gaming Commission so long?
The announcement came just before 3:30 Wednesday afternoon. Post time for the first race of the Saratoga meet is at 1:10 p.m. Thursday.
“Tremendous news,” said Saratoga Springs’ Jack Knowlton, the operating manager of Sackatoga Stable, which owns Tiz the Law, who will be the favorite for the Aug. 8 Travers Stakes. “This is the best news I have had since Tiz won the Belmont. We are grateful to the state and NYRA (New York Racing Association) for letting this happen.”
NYRA had submitted a proposal
to the Gaming Commission to allow owners to attend the races on Wednesday, July 1, and was hopeful of getting an answer by Friday, July 3. Everyone had to wait another dozen days.
Owners will be allowed to enter the track only on the day their horse(es) are entered to run. That will start on Friday. In order to reduce density and adhere to social distancing guidelines, the size of the ownership group will be restricted to eight people per horse. And they must all have a New York State Gaming Commission license. With the exception of Friday’s card, owners will have to make a reservation through the racing office. That must be received 24 hours in advance of the race day.
A limited number of licensed owners will be given access to the barn area at Saratoga to watch their horses train in the mornings. Owners must provide NYRA with a negative COVID-19 test result taken within seven days of their request to gain access. Owners will not be allowed to watch live racing from the barn area and access ends at 11:20 a.m. daily.
Owners allowed into the barn area are required to wear facial covering at all times and practice social distancing. Those same protocols will be expected when owners attend races. Prior to entering the track through the clubhouse entrance, owners will be subject to health screening, including a temperature check.
Owners who are coming to Saratoga from any of the states currently listed on the New York Travel Advisory are subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
Other than the owners, there are no spectators allowed to attend the races.
“Health and safety are our primary focus as we continue to work with New York State officials to determine the potential for broader spectator access during the 2020 summer meet,” NYRA president and CEO Dave O’rourke said in a statement. “To be able to allow the participation of a limited number of owners reflects the progress made in New York to reduce the rate of COVID-19 infection.”
Roddy Valente of Loudonville owns 15 horses that could be running at some point during the meet. Like Knowlton, he was relieved to hear the news but was more thankful that racing is still running in New York. After one weekend of racing at Del Mar in California, that meet was shut down for this weekend after 15 jockeys tested positive for the coronavirus.
“I just want to make sure we can keep going,” Valente said. “If we ever lose what we’ve got, we are in deep trouble. I am going to love to get to see my horses in the morning, but the safety of the people on the backstretch and the jockeys are what is important.”