TORONTO - Woodbine Racetrack will be the site for a pop-up COVID-19 vaccine clinic this week.

Woodbine Entertainment announced Monday the clinic at the racetrack will begin Wednesday for the Rexdale community. The clinic will operate for at least three days and will be open to those 18 years and older living in `hot spot' communities in M9V and M9W postal codes.

“We are very proud and grateful to be able to host this much needed pop-up clinic at Woodbine Racetrack for the Rexdale community,” Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson said in a statement. “We look forward to working with our community partners over the coming days to deliver a positive experience that will benefit people throughout Rexdale.”

The clinic will also be open to frontline essential workers who provide daily care to horses stabled at Woodbine Racetrack.

“These workers are critical to the wellbeing of more than 1,000 horses and obviously cannot work from home. Many of them live in dormitories on our property and in the surrounding areas,” said Lawson.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2021.