Sponsored by:
Veronica Gallardo and Nick Garafola (pre-pandemic)
Longtime New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) employees Nick Garafola and Veronica Gallardo have worked valiantly for the racing community amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the dormitories located on the Belmont Park backstretch.
Garafola and Gallardo have a combined 37 years of experience at NYRA. On Belmont s vast backstretch, they re responsible for the housing and well-being of a small city: anywhere from 450 to 600 backstretch workers living in approximately 500 rooms among 69 cottages.
On March 19, 2020, NYRA voluntarily suspended live racing at Aqueduct Racetrack due to changing circumstances in the racing community relative to COVID-19 pandemic. Although racing was stopped, the essential work of caring for the more than 1,300 horses stabled at Belmont continued.
Dave O Rourke:
Ideally, we d love 2021 to be more like 2019. Nobody wants to relive 2020 in any form. But you know, as the Buffalo Bills are playing, we re seeing what s going on in New York. And, you know, we re waiting guidance. You know, we re preparing for all eventualities. You know, we have a big event before the Belmont Stakes. So that s a bit of a precursor for us in terms of focus, operationally. But, you know, the hope will be that there s fans in Saratoga, and I think that there will I think there will be. I mean, but you know, it s always an educated guess in terms of capacity, what would testing be, like, you know, what are the vaccine vaccination levels? I mean, the state s doing an incredible job. I mean, it s a Herculean effort, really what s going on right now with the numbers that they re able to push through. But, you know, I wish I could give you a definitive answer. The only one I could give is that, you know, we re working with, with the state and with all o