Glorious Empire winning the G1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga. NYRA/Adam Coglianese

For some Midlantic trainers who are Saratoga stalwarts, the summer of 2020 may well look similar to their operations in years past. But that doesn’t mean it will feel the same.

For the last several years, Graham Motion has rotated horses between his Fair Hill base and his 10 stalls on Saratoga backstretch, leaving the Saratoga string in the more-than-capable hands of assistant Alice Clapham. He and his family spend a small part of the meet here, and this year will be no different.

“Alice handles my traveling string,” said Motion, “and I don’t know how many times she’s been tested for Covid-19 at this point. She was recently exposed to the infection through Luis Saez, and so she’s going to get tested again.”

“I do think that we belittle what an awkward situation we put staff in,” he continued. “Jockeys, employees, assistants—we ask a lot of them.”

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