Jockeys riding in the rescheduled 146th Kentucky Derby next weekend have to arrive by Monday, then quarantine upon returning to their home tracks, just one of many changes forced by the coronavirus pandemic.
Initially, Churchill Downs had proposed an arrival date of Aug. 24 – nearly two weeks before the Triple Crown Series event on Sept. 5. Track officials backed down after out-of-state riders and their agents expressed concerns about losing lucrative business at home while being confined in Louisville.
The out-of-state riders already had to take a COVID-19 test last Monday and have the results reviewed by Churchill Downs. Their next required test comes this Monday at the track, followed by a third test on Thursday.
In some cases, riders will have to quarantine upon returning to their home bases because of travel restrictions around the country.
As a result, some of the sport’s biggest names are expected to take a pass on the world’s most famous thoroughbred race. Among them are New York-based Joel Rosario and brothers Irad and Jose Ortiz, as well as California-based Flavien Prat, who won last year aboard Country House after Maximum Security was disqualified.
In any other year, few jockeys would miss a chance to ride in the Derby, a career highlight for most.
“It’s not the fact that they have to give up three to four days going there,” two-time Derby winner Mike Smith said of his fellow riders. “It’s that they can’t go back to the places.”
Although the field and riders won’t be set until Tuesday’s post position draw, nearly half of this year’s Derby jockeys could come from Kentucky.
Typically, out-of-town jockeys arrive a day or so before a major race, then jump back on a plane that night or morning after to return in time to ride on the following day’s card at their home tracks. Getting on a high volume of horses is necessary to ensure a living in a dangerous sport without guaranteed contracts.
After arriving in Louisville on Sunday night, Smith will have four days to kill before riding on Friday and Saturday.
“I’ll exercise a little bit just to stay fit and in the groove,” he said. “Good thing for me is I’m used to traveling.”
Smith has spent most of the summer at Del Mar, but the seaside track north of San Diego concludes its schedule on Labor Day. Even if he wanted to rush back, he couldn’t because he’d need to quarantine again. Saratoga in upstate New York also closes for the season on Sept. 7.
Smith will bolster his trip to the Derby with a riding assignment the following weekend at Kentucky Downs, near the Tennessee border.
New York’s Belmont Park, which hosted the Triple Crown opener in June, doesn’t open for its regular running until Sept. 18, and California’s Santa Anita Park starts a day later, making Kentucky Downs and its average of $2 million a day in purses a quick and potentially lucrative pit stop. Smith will be joined by some other Derby jockeys. Their coronavirus tests from Churchill Downs will be honored at the southern Kentucky track.