New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton of San Mateo, California tested positive for Coronavirus on Thursday. Payton becomes the first known person associated with the National Football League to get the disease according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Payton had attended the horse racing competitions at the Oaklawn Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas this past weekend. He was not feeling well by Sunday, was tested Monday and received the test results by Thursday.
We do not for sure that Payton caught the pandemic at the Arkansas race track, but the world should know he was definitely there. All people who attended the event should now self isolate as soon as possible for 14 days. One person who spent quite a bit of time with Payton this past weekend was trainer Tom Amoss, who said he will be getting tested himself very soon and self isolate.
The Arkansas Derby, which is known as an elite horse racing competition prior to the Kentucky Derby, has now been moved from April 11 to May 2. Interestingly, the Kentucky Derby was initially scheduled for May 2, but has been moved to September 5. This is the first time that the Kentucky Derby is not taking place on the first Saturday of May since 1945. The reason why the Kentucky Derby did not take place as scheduled 75 years ago is because the United States government, led by the Director of the United States Office of War Mobilization James F. Byrnes, put a ban on horse racing due to World War II. When Germany surrendered and the war was over, the race was moved to June 9, 1945 and was won by Hoop Jr.
