Santa Anita Park a Home Away From Home for Jockeys

Along with their equine counterparts, jockeys have long been considered the stars of horse racing, and now at Santa Anita Park, they're getting the star treatment.

As part of the track's new COVID-19 protocols, added to gain authorization for a resumption of spectatorless racing from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the track began housing jockeys during the race week in "Star Wagons," trailers often used on the sets of movies. Split in two, each half provides a temporary residence for a rider, though they must house in isolation, away from family and other loved ones.

A few riders took to social media over the weekend to show off their new quarters, which include a kitchenette, shower, and other amenities. They seemed to enjoy spending extra time with their colleagues.

Jockeys Aaron Gryder and Drayden Van Dyke tweeted photos and videos of their trailers, such as one showing Gryder climbing headfirst into Van Dyke's trailer to retrieve keys locked inside. Another showed the two riders waking veteran jockey Mike Smith with an early morning knock at his door.

When ⁦@DraydenV⁩ locks his keys in his trailer ⁦@santaanitapark⁩ who does he call at 5am? pic.twitter.com/DopiOkUCUJ

— Aaron Gryder (@AaronGryder) May 16, 2020

"It was great talking to each other. We all had a good time," said Gryder. "It was good comradery. It was just a good vibe."

In today's stay-at-home work world across much of the nation, the riders are living a life more exciting than most. Beyond the trailer area, located in a parking lot adjacent to the jockeys' room, they have access to the 100-to-1 Club, a high-class lounge area perched atop the third floor of the Santa Anita facility. Not currently in use for public groups, it has become a dining and entertainment area for jockeys riding at the Southern California oval. 

Friday night, for instance, the riders ate on the 100-to-1 Club patio after racing, enjoying the panoramic view of the track beneath the shadows of the San Gabriel Mountains. They enjoyed takeout from The Derby restaurant, a steakhouse located in Arcadia that has long served racegoers and horsemen. Afterward, they watched movies on the club's more than 15 televisions and played cards and video games while socially distancing.

Gryder said has heard from a couple of retired riders, wishing they had been there.

"Gary Stevens and David Flores called. They said, 'Man, I want to come in quarantine,'" Gryder laughed. "I said (to Gary), 'Man, you've come out of retirement three times. What's the difference with four?'"

Good times aside, riders acknowledge they're happy to be back at work. Santa Anita was shuttered for seven weeks by local health officials due to COVID-19, and they realize that health compliance is necessary to keep the economic engine of racing in operation. 

Those arrangements call for mask-wearing riders to mount horses for morning breezes in the paddock area, much like they would for afternoon racing, and to lead their horses back in a single file with spacing upon returning from works and races. At that point, the horses are secured by track-employed grooms with assistance from designated valets.

Jockey’s were up early and in the paddock waiting to get on horses at @santaanitapark pic.twitter.com/m4Nj5LnGXr

— Aaron Gryder (@AaronGryder) May 17, 2020

Unlike in the past, the victorious horse and rider do not visit the winner's circle, a restriction meant to avoid congregating. Instead, the rider will have his mount pause on the track in front of the grandstand for the track photographer, a moment of respect paid to the winner.

Even within their normal base in the jockeys' room, conditions are different with fewer valets and jockeys spaced out several lockers from one another, separated by about 10 feet, Gryder said.

Asked about life in the trailers, Hall of Famer Smith recalled that he had been part of a setup such as this, comparing it only to a period when large tents were constructed at Arlington Park to allow the track to conduct racing in the mid-1980s after a fire destroyed that track's old grandstand on July 31, 1985. Rebuilt over a 19-month period beginning in 1987, the track was renamed Arlington International Racecourse and unveiled in the summer of 1989.

Smith said the isolation from loved ones is manageable, particularly with riders being allowed to return to regular homes for dark days after the conclusion of the week's racing. He is spending the early to the middle part of this week with his wife Cynthia, who visited her family in Long Beach while he was isolated at Santa Anita.

"So we retest again on Wednesday, come back Friday morning, and if all clear we get to go in," Smith said of COVID-19 health requirements.

Gryder, who lives alone, has instead chosen to remain in his "Star Wagon" at Santa Anita, where track executives Aidan Butler and Nate Newby have also set up lodging.

"It's been a great team effort by everybody," Gryder said of track's first few days of racing. "It was so great to see the power of unity, whether it was the trainers, the grooms, everybody. Everything just went so smooth."