LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Jockey Luis Saez was pulled from his mounts at Keeneland on Friday after testing positive for COVID-19, the Daily Racing Form reported and the track confirmed.
According to DRF, Saez's agent, former trainer and Lexington native Kiaran McLaughlin, said Saez had provided Keeneland officials a testing swab on Thursday that came back as positive on Friday. Saez was not informed of the positive result until after riding Fortuna in the second race. Saez had previously tested negative on Sunday in New York.
Vince Gabbert, Keeneland's vice president and chief operating officer, said Saez had been isolated from other jockeys before riding.
"It's honestly worked out pretty well," Gabbert said Friday. "We've essentially set up four different jocks' rooms so that we could socially distance and not only have their own space with their equipment but also essentially segregating folks that are coming from other areas. The guys that rode up in Indiana earlier this week, we've got them in one area. The guys coming down from New York for the weekend, we've got them in one spot. The California guys are in another spot."
Saez was the jockey on Maximum Security when the colt was disqualified for obstruction in last year's Kentucky Derby and placed 17th. He will undergo quarantine and be required to pass another coronavirus test before being allowed to ride again. He will not ride again at Keeneland this meet, which ends Sunday. Saez was expected to ride Maximum Security in the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on July 18.
Saez and fellow rider Martin Garcia have both tested positive at Keeneland after riding at other tracks. Garcia tested positive on Tuesday and has not ridden at Keeneland. Both jockeys rode at Los Alamitos in California on Saturday before going to New York. Saez rode at Indiana Grand on Wednesday before coming to Keeneland on Thursday.
McLaughlin told DRF that Saez was not showing symptoms of the coronavirus. He was scheduled to ride in five races Saturday, including aboard Attachment Rate in the Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
According to Equibase, Saez has won 151 of 757 starts this year. He rode Uncle Chuck to a win in the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby for trainer Bob Baffert last Saturday. Saez has 2,463 lifetime wins, and ranked fourth last year in wins.
Gabbert said that with two days left in its five-day summer meet, Keeneland will not be making any change in its protocols.
"We had already planned to test through the entire meet and make sure that we had all of our protocols in place," he said. "And really, as much as we hate (Saez's positive), the protocols we had in place, this is what they were designed to do for us to be able to respond to it and keep on racing. We've been able to do just that."
