On Wednesday (Dec. 8), officials with Flamboro Downs issued a letter to horsepeople advising participants of its mandatory vaccination policy that is set to take effect.
The letter is as follows:
Dear Flamboro Downs Horse People,
The provincial governments in the jurisdictions that the Company operates its commercial business interests in, have recently issued Public Health Orders for proof of Full Vaccination, by means of a member of the public providing government approved proof of vaccination, supported by a secondary means of personal identification, to gain entry to the Company’s places of business.
These government public health directives in each of the Company’s operating jurisdictions broadly apply to guests attending gatherings at large public facilities, which includes the gaming and racing sector and therefore all the Company’s sites and facilities.
In keeping with the Company’s ongoing commitment to the safety of our employees, horse people and guests, the Company has now formally adopted a Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy (the “Policy”), applicable to Company team members, third party contractors and visitors, coming into effect on December 10, 2021,
The Policy has been added as part of the Company’s Corporate Ethics and Conduct Manual (CECM) and Access Agreement, which as a horse person (e.g., Owner, trainer, breeder, supplier, driver, jockey etc.), you would have already received at or prior to the onset of the pandemic, and subsequently reviewed and attested to for Company compliance purposes. The revised CECM (under section 7 (j)) and Access Agreement, including the applicable Policy statement has been included for your reference purposes.
As a result of implementing the Policy, when you or one of your employees visits a Company Racetrack or Gaming premises, you or they will be required to show a proof of vaccination via the applicable jurisdiction’s Vaccine Card and a valid piece of personal photo identification, when reporting to Company Security as a condition of entry.
To ensure that the proof of vaccination status verification process go as smoothly as possible for both your employee and our security team at the racetrack site and stable area security entrance, we would ask that you provide the Company with a list of your employees that have provided proof of full vaccination, partial vaccination, or unvaccinated status to you as their employer and can also attest that they will have achieved full vaccination status, not later than December 9, 2021. For certainty, this list is only requested to be furnished to the Company, if your employees would be deemed to be frequent visitors to our Company facilities in the dispensation of their duties and responsibilities within the Racetrack site, including the grandstand, track surface and stable areas.
The Company had requested previously to receive this vaccination status list, e-mailed to [email protected], no later than November 15, 2021, in order to have those lists available at the racetrack site security entry checkpoint, as on that date, the current vaccination status of the vendor, service provider, visitor or horse person will have been requested by Company Security to be disclosed at that time, as an early alert for that horse person to the upcoming mandatory proof of vaccination date of December 10, in order to be in full compliance for entry purposes noted above. Based on the broader vaccination declaration status noted above, please send a revised list to the above noted e-mail address by not later than December 9.
By way of an update, and given that the horse people are present at the Racetrack site on an extremely frequent basis during the racing and training season, the Company will require horse people who are unvaccinated against COVID-19, partially vaccinated awaiting a second dose appointment, and those with an approved medical exemption in written form from a physician or qualified medical professional, and those with an approved religious exemption in written form from a certified faith leader, to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 rapid test twice a week (spaced a minimum of 72 hours apart) on an ongoing basis, as a continued condition of entry at the racetrack site and stable area security entrance.
Horse people are required to obtain their rapid testing and results externally at a provincially accredited testing facility. Any horse people that test positive as a result of the weekly rapid testing must follow all guidance from Public Health and the third-party test provider. The horse person will also need to notify their trainer, owner or employer and Racetrack site security, until they are advised by Public Health or their personal physician that they can resume their work activities related to the Racetrack site.
To ensure the privacy of a horse person’s personal information, the Company only requires the name of your frequent employees and their current vaccination status as a precursor to facilitating a smooth and efficient entry process. When checking your employees’ proof of vaccination credentials or evidence of a weekly negative rapid test result at the point of entry, whether it be the stable gate or the grandstand entrance, no personal information will be retained at that time as a condition of entry.
Horse person’s employees that cannot produce valid proof of vaccination or weekly negative rapid testing results at the Company’s racetrack site security entrance, as of December 10, will be denied entry.
Any horse person that wishes to enter the grandstand facility will be required to follow the normal health and safety related entry policies and procedures that apply to guests at all the Company’s sites and facilities.
Please note that if one of your employees is simply making a delivery and are at a dock or drop-off location outside of the licensed stable area or the security perimeter of the facility for less than thirty (30) minutes, and all other previously communicated and attested to the Company’s Health & Safety procedures outlined in Section 7 of the CECM and the Access Agreement are being adhered to by the employee, then that employee would be considered exempt from the Policy that governs entry to our site, backstretch or grandstand.
If you have any questions, please contact Chad Gates at [email protected].
(Flamboro)