10 Quotes by Lou Raffetto

It could be a lot worse. It could have happened two months from now. Then where would we be? We are not talking about opening Pimlico (for racing) until April 20. We're certain that by then this will be long behind us, and we don't expect any residual effect.

It has been a two-month process, one in which we learned a great deal about this virus. We hope this knowledge will help us in the future should (future outbreaks) occur. We are relieved to have the situation behind us. I would think this would act as a catalyst to open the borders of the surrounding states, but those decisions will have to be made by the veterinarian in those jurisdictions.

Springtime in Maryland is always an exciting time. We believe that it will be even more appealing this year as a result of the nature of the program and increases in the stakes.

We are delighted to see the situation progressing the way we had hoped. The fact we will be back to normal training hours and have another barn released at Pimlico is good news for all. We feel confident we are reaching the end of the road regarding the virus, and look forward to the day when we are back to 100% normalcy.

We are moving in the right direction. We're hopeful that we have this under control.

We are working with a limited pool of horses and it has taken its toll on our entries. Cutting back to four days a week the next two weeks will allow us to have the quality and quantity we were accustomed to before the outbreak of the virus.

There was a question of lameness in this horse a few days prior. There is a feeling that this may be a broken pelvis. This is purely a precautionary measure as we've tried to take all along. We've tried to take extra measures.

I have no concern about that whatsoever. Given the nature of this virus, I don't think this will be an issue by the time we start the spring meet in April.

In one sense it is a tough decision. No one wants to cancel two of its premier races, but in light of the situation as is now exists and New York's decision to extend the quarantine period we have no choice but to take a one-year hiatus. To preserve the integrity, quality and grading of the race we thought this was the best move to make.