Triple Crown-winning jockey Victor Espinoza and two other top jockeys tested positive for COVID-19.
Espinoza, who rode American Pharoah to racing glory in 2015, was removed from his three mounts Friday as the Del Mar meet opened in California pending the results of a COVID-19 test, agent Brian Beach said. The test, which came back later in the day, showed Espinoza as positive for COVID-19.
“Monday and Tuesday, (Victor) wasn’t feeling up to snuff,” Beach said before knowing the result of he test. “He was feeling (flu-like symptoms), sniffles, body aches, that kind of stuff.
Espinoza is the third rider who was at Los Alamitos on July 4 who has subsequently tested positive.
Martin Garcia tested positive on Wednesday, prior to riding at Indiana Grand, and Luis Saez tested positive on Friday at Keeneland in Kentucky. Both Garcia and Saez have ridden at multiple tracks in the past week-plus.
Espinoza went to a testing site in Orange County Thursday because he was told he would be able to receive a quick result, but the results were delayed due to a malfunction in testing, Beach told NBCSandiego.com.
Espinoza “found a way to get a test in San Diego County [Friday], and received a result within a few hours,” his agent said.
Saez tested positive for COVID-19 while riding at Keeneland‘s five-day summer meet. He was taken off his mounts after the second race Friday and asked to vacate the premises.
Saez had just finished second aboard in a $70,000 maiden special weight race when it was discovered that he had tested positive.
“Everybody that rode in Indiana on Wednesday we had tested yesterday before they rode,” Vince Gabbert, Keeneland’s vice president and chief operating officer, told the Bloodhorse. “As soon as we got the results back (today) and found out about the positive, he removed all of his tack and we cleaned and sanitized the area he had occupied.”
Saez ranks fifth this year by jockey earnings with more than $6 million in purses. He has 151 wins (ranking second) from 758 mounts.
In a bit of coincidence/irony, a horse named for Dr. Anthony Fauci won his first race at Keeneland on Thursday. The 2-year-old colt won by a length as the heavy favorite against 11 rivals. Fauci ran 5½ furlongs on turf in 58.65 seconds under jockey Tyler Gaffalione and paid $4.20 to win.