#Coronavirus Soundbites
/By Bill Heller
We asked trainers how they are handling the coronavirus pandemic and what advice they have for getting through this ordeal
Todd Pletcher
We had to close down our Belmont division. There were workers with symptoms. They went to the clinic and were quarantined. More than anything, it was making it difficult to have a safe workplace. At that time, we thought there wasn’t going to be racing in New York for a while. We had 20 horses at Belmont. That normally would be the time we’d be sending horses to Belmont. We had to put that on hold.
We left it up to owners to decide what to do with their horses. Some went to their farms; a couple went to Fair Hill; some went to Ocala and some went to Palm Beach Downs. We did not move any workers [but] have about 100 horses at Palm Beach, a small string at Gulfstream Park [and] four at Oaklawn scheduled to run. We’ve been fortunate with Gulfstream being able to run. We’ve been able to keep some schedules. It’s juggling a lot of schedules. It’s trying times for everyone. We want to make sure to keep our horses and our employees healthy.
Current practices at Palm Beach?
We’re just going by the recommendations as to what the government is saying. Masks are optional. Some are wearing them; most are not. At Gulfstream, we’re just trying to use common sense, keep people from congregating, keep six feet apart. The one thing we are learning is that social distancing is working. We try to keep that policy in mind.
Planning ahead?
That’s something I have to work around. I’m a target-oriented trainer. I like pointing to specific spots. At Aqueduct, the condition book is in the garbage—Keeneland, too. These are unique times. You have to adjust on a daily basis. Everyone’s in the same boat. Everyone’s facing several challenges.
Suggestions?
Use common sense. Take care of your horses and your staff. In time, we’ll return to normalcy. Try to remain positive.
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Eoin Harty
It’s been no harder for me than everybody else. You worry about your family, in California and Europe. Every day you wake up, that’s the first thing on your mind. With horses, you have to take care of them every day. It would be a lot worse for me if we were home 24-7.
Eoin Harty
Precautions?
You can feel that tension in the air. I check every person in the barn; nobody’s coughing. Everyone is wearing gloves and masks—masks for sure around the barn. You don’t have to ask people twice.
Racing?
There’s been a lot of speculation about Santa Anita using Los Alamitos. I don’t know if it’s viable. I think we could be racing at Santa Anita again. The best case scenario is racing at the end of the month or in May. We haven’t had a single case on the racetrack. There hasn’t been a single one. That’s a good thing.
Personally?
I keep six feet away—don’t touch anything.
Suggestions?
Do what you have to do to protect yourself and your family. Right now, it’s common sense. Look out for your friends. Racing will take care of itself.
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Graham Motion
Graham Motion
My family is all home. My wife is trying to run the business from home. As far as the barn, we’re taking a lot of precautions. We have one person disinfecting everything first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening. He takes everybody’s temperature when they come in the morning. We’re trying to have employees not group up in the tack room. After a week or two, you have to remind them.
Six feet away?
We try to. It’s not totally realistic. You have to give a leg up. Most of the time with gloves. We try to do the best we can.
We’re going to try to get everybody to wear masks. We tried to order some. We have 100 employees all told at all the locations: Fair Hill, Palm Meadows. Normally, we would have pulled out from Palm Meadows for Keeneland, but now we’re staying at Palm Meadows.
Normally I train down there while my son, Chappy, goes to spring break. We got from Fair Hill to North Carolina. We planned to overnight in North Carolina. Once we got there, things were getting bad. We spent two nights in North Carolina, and we decided we’d rather be in Maryland. We went back to Fair Hill. It kind of reminded me of 9-11.
Advice for horsemen?
I think in general, the horsemen are lucky. We get to keep on doing what we do. The horses have to get out of their stalls. I think the unsettling part is not knowing when we’ll race again. We worry about our owners who are paying training fees every day. I’m worried about them. We have 60 horses at Fair Hill and 20 at Palm Meadows. I just brought in a few two-year-olds.
When new people come in, they stay away for two weeks. We’re trying to follow the guidelines.
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Tom Proctor
I’m in a little better shape than most. Other than Gulfstream and Tampa Bay, I have horses at Oaklawn, and the rest are at Glen Hill Farm south of Ocala. Most of my horses are gathered up at Ocala. We probably got 25 in Ocala and a dozen are at Tampa Bay. I’m spending most of my time in Ocala.
Precautions?
We did have horses at the Fair Grounds. We kept those people from Fair Grounds separate for two weeks. We did get out of New Orleans pretty early—about the middle of March.
Tom Proctor
In Ocala, gloves and masks?
Most of our people don’t leave the farm. We’re not really wearing masks. We’re washing our hands. The zip code we’re in hasn’t had a single case.
When you go to the track, do you take precautions?
I’ve stayed away from people—social distancing when I can. For a trainer, it’s easier than most. I check on the horses when nobody else is around.
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Tom Amoss
(Tom Amoss was exposed to the virus by being with New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton, who contracted the virus, at the Fair Grounds. Amoss self-quarantined for two weeks while continuing to work from home for TVG.)
Did you have the virus?
I never really found out. When it happened, it wasn’t easy to test. I stayed at home for two weeks. Now I’m going to work every day. They really don’t want us up and around in New Orleans. I’m here at my barn every morning from 6-10. My routine is the same.
Protocols at Fair Grounds?
That’s an evolving thing. Our temperature is taken when we come into the track. We’re not allowed in the buildings. Social distancing is a requirement. Fifty percent of the people on the backstretch are wearing masks. We’ve had zero issues in my barn, and none in other barns as well. There’s a reason for that. My help lives on the racetrack. They’re self-contained. There’s a grocery on the backstretch—Canseco’s. We’re the opposite of how New Orleans is doing. We have nothing bad in our barn. I haven’t heard of one case.
Suggestions for other horsemen?
It’s a tough question. Look, there’s a difference between our horses and the horses in California. Our horses are allowed to ship to Oaklawn. No people are shipped. I’ve got a barn up there. I’m blessed in the fact that I already have people there.
Stables?
Ever-changing. There are a lot of horses I have who race on grass. They have been sold or turned out. Other horses who don’t fit the condition and book at Oaklawn have been sold or turned out. We’ve down-sized about 20 percent.
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Linda Rice
Linda RIce
Handling this?
We’re doing very well. We’re being very careful on Long Island. We know New York City has a lot of cases. We’ve been using masks, gloves and social distancing. We’ve been doing that for three weeks now. We have a regular training schedule at Belmont. It’s good to have a routine. We’re happy to go to work every day. A lot of people are stuck at home. They can’t work. We can.
Response so far?
The help is doing great. Everyone is concerned. We watch the news. It scares the hell out of you. But it’s the old adage: the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man, or a woman.
What’s going on with racing in New York?
Aqueduct, obviously, is being used as a hospital. I think everyone here is under the impression that we’ll be racing at Belmont. It’s just a matter of when. We’re looking at June 1st. If it’s sooner than that, great.
Outlook?
The entire world is dealing with this. If there is small business assistance, that’s great if it can get processed. Unemployment for those out of work will help. We’re making sure of helping everyone on the backstretch who needs it. We’re making sure our horses and our people are safe.
