Haskell 2020: Amid COVID-19 outbreak among jockeys, can Monmouth Park keep riders safe?

The revelation that 15 jockeys, including some of the nation’s top riders, tested positive for COVID-19 at Del Mar in Southern California sent shockwaves through the racing world on Wednesday, with Del Mar promptly canceling racing over the weekend. The news came a day after the New York Racing Association locked down its rider colony at Saratoga, prohibiting outside jockeys from entering, while denying re-entering to anyone who leaves to ride at another track.

The ripple effect has been felt at Monmouth Park, with New York-based riders unable to make the trip to the Jersey Shore for Haskell Day, with Saturday's $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes anchoring a lineup featuring five graded stakes, including the Grade 1 $300,000 United Nations.

Now Monmouth Park, and every track across the country, is asking the same question: How do you keep jockeys safe?

Just six days into a 37-day meet, Monmouth Park has yet to have a single jockey test positive since the track opened on July 3. And a track official indicated they plan on doing everything they can to keep it that way, including considering a lockdown of their own, as coronavirus cases continue to rise around the county.

The early success at the Oceanport track can be traced to the stringent protocols that had to be put in place before the state would allow it to open, according to Dennis Drazin, the chairman and CEO of Darby Development, which operates the track. The protocols had to be approved by the New Jersey Racing Commission, the state’s Department of Health and Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration before they were permitted to move forward, opening some two months after their original start date.

“Did it take time to do all of that?,” Drazin said. “Yes, because (regulators) are so busy doing everything else, they get to it as quickly as they can but there are multiple layers that have to get approved. So we had all those things in place. It would be unbelievable to me that other jurisdictions did not have the same requirements.”

Some key components of the protocols include:

Every Monmouth Park jockey must test negative on Thursday every week to be able to ride on the weekend.

• A renovated jockey’s room helps insure social distancing
• Out-of-town riders must test negative before riding, and are isolated from other jockeys.
• What Monmouth Park is desperately trying to avoid is having to shut down like Del Mar.

The track has already lost 19 racing days due to the pandemic, with its original opening day of May 2 scuttled as Murphy slowly reopened the state. Its revenue streams were squeezed significantly, with simulcasting on racing from other tracks and its sports book closed for more than three months, while the number of spectators allowed in the track are severely limited, including on Haskell Day.

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Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who won the Triple Crown aboard Justify in 2018, will have to pass a COVID-19 test when he arrives in New Jersey this week before riding Haskell favorite Authentic, a top contender for the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, for trainer Bob Baffert. The only other out-of-town jockey coming to ride in the Haskell is Delaware Park-based Alex Cintron, who will ride Lebda for trainer Claudio Gonzalez.

Inside Monmouth Park’s jockey’s room, cubicles have been constructed for each rider, with the barriers providing more protection that the standard locker room layout that had existed.

Track officials are expected to consider rules similar to the ones imposed in New York, which would restrict Monmouth Park jockeys from riding at other tracks and re-entering, and outside jockeys from riding at Monmouth Park.

“My current inclination is not to lock down our colony if we can maintain safety and have our department of health sign off on our plan,” Drazin said. “We certainly intend to discuss it. If I think there’s any risk at all probably would close it down.”

Another change being considered to protect jockeys and other backstretch employees from the coronavirus involves restricting access to the stable area in the morning for jockeys. In New York, for instance, a horse working out with a jockey is brought out to the paddock.

It’s all part of an overall safety plan for the entire 300-acre facility.

Spectators are required to get their temperature checked and answer a series of health-related questions before entering at facility. Masks are required, along with social distancing.

Stephen Edelson is a USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey sports columnist who has been covering athletics in the state and at the Jersey Shore for nearly 35 years. Contact him at: @SteveEdelsonAPP; sedelson@gannettnj.com.