Kentucky Derby Jockeys Must Be at Churchill by Aug. 31

Jockeys riding at Churchill Downs the week of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) will be required to arrive by Aug. 31 and submit to COVID-19 testing before being cleared, according to a document of protocols distributed by the track.

The arrival date is later than originally proposed by track officials. Early last week during a virtual town hall, Churchill Downs president Kevin Flanery told horsemen that preliminary plans called for riders to be in Kentucky by Aug. 24. That date was met with disapproval on the town hall conference by five-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert, who preferred riders test and arrive shortly before the track's major races.

In response to the previously floated date, some out-of-state riders or their agents expressed reluctance to travel to Churchill Downs unless they could secure a prime mount in the Derby or one of the other major races contested there over the week. In many instances, these riders will have to undergo quarantines upon their returns to their customary circuits per rules established by the tracks they regularly ride.

Baffert said the afternoon of Aug. 14 that John Velazquez would ride Authentic for him in the Derby and Florent Geroux would be aboard Thousand Words. Velazquez, who will ride Gamine for the trainer in the Sept. 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), is currently based in New York, and Geroux is riding in Kentucky.

"Johnny is going to be there for Gamine," Baffert said. "I think a lot of guys don't want to go. They can't get back (quickly) to New York, to California. It's been a (challenge)."

The Aug. 31 date established by Churchill Downs before the Sept. 5 Derby is a shorter period than the usual 10-day or 14-day quarantines largely in place at tracks that have closed their jockeys' rooms to out-of-state riders.

Jockeys' Guild president and CEO Terry Meyocks was informed of Churchill's plans Thursday and began contacting his membership. He said he has been in touch with Gary Palmisano, the special assistant to the track president at Churchill Downs who notified him that Churchill made its decision in consultation with the department of health.

"We respect it. Everybody is trying to do what is best for the industry and everyone's safety and health," he said.

Under the terms of the Churchill Downs document, all jockeys who intend to ride at Churchill Downs during Derby week must declare their intention to ride before Aug. 18. Out-of-state committed jockeys must then have a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gold standard RT-PCR COVID-19 nasopharyngeal test performed Aug. 24, the only test the track will accept. Those results must then be received by Churchill Downs prior to their arrival.

The track will conduct COVID-19 testing of jockeys at a designated tent inside the stable gate during the morning of Aug. 31. Another test will be administered the morning of Sept. 3.

Derek Lawson, the agent for California-based rider Flavien Prat, who won the 2019 Derby via disqualification aboard Country House, expressed frustration at the protocols and suggested finding the specific Churchill-mandated COVID-19 test before traveling might prove difficult.

"It's such an overkill on all this. It's really an inconvenience for the riders," he said.

Prat was one of 15 jockeys in California who tested positive for COVID-19 last month, which forced Del Mar to suspend racing for a week, though most were asymptomatic. Jockeys from other regions who often ride in the Derby have also tested positive, either this spring or this summer, including Javier Castellano, Luis Saez, and Geroux.

Lawson said a determination has not been made whether Prat will ride at Churchill Downs or stay at Del Mar, where he has numerous stakes mounts lined up in a bid to surpass Rafael Bejarano's record of 13 stakes victories at the meet. Through last weekend's racing there, Prat had won eight stakes. Del Mar continues through Sept. 7.

Prat has been aboard Storm the Court, last year's champion 2-year-old male, in eight of his nine starts. Storm the Court is being pointed toward the Derby, trainer Peter Eurton said Friday.

Lawson anticipates Prat will stay in California, also citing the strength of the likely Derby favorite, Tiz the Law.

Tiz the Law's rider, Manny Franco, will comply with the necessary COVID-19 procedures, the jockey and his agent, Angel Cordero Jr., said this week.

"It’s not every day you are going to be on the favorite for the Kentucky Derby, so you have to go,” Cordero said.

Jockeys wishing to gain entrance to the stable area before Derby week may receive a test at Churchill Downs Aug. 18-24.

Besides repeat testing, jockeys must agree to properly wear face coverings at all times except during the running of a race. They must also social distance and abide by public-health guidelines. 

Churchill plans to have auxiliary jockeys' rooms for riders traveling in from out of state.

Although Velazquez will travel to Kentucky, agent Ron Anderson said, his other jockey, Joel Rosario, will continue riding at Saratoga Race Course. 

John Panagot, the agent for Castellano, said the Hall of Fame jockey will be riding in Kentucky. Castellano will be aboard Caracaro, whom he rode to a second-place finish behind Tiz the Law in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), in the Kentucky Derby and Speech in the Kentucky Oaks.

Also, agents Jimmy Riccio for Jose Ortiz and Steve Rushing for Irad Ortiz Jr. said their riders will remain in New York.

Jockeys' room personnel must also undergo the same testing protocols as riders to have access to the jockeys' room. Jockey agents will not be allowed access to the stable area from Aug. 22 through Sept. 6, and post position draws will be conducted via video conference.

As for the jockeys' return to their home circuit, spokesperson Pat McKenna said the New York Racing Association will adhere to its current policy and riders who leave Saratoga will not be allowed to participate at the Spa for the remainder of the 40-day meet that ends Sept. 7. 

"These travel restrictions are designed to protect the health and safety of the jockeys competing here in New York at a time when COVID-19 cases continue to rise in states across the country," he said.

He added that protocols for the fall Belmont Park meet will be announced at a later date.