diff --git a/state/indexer/sink/psql/psql_test.go b/state/indexer/sink/psql/psql_test.go
index 5c0f139c1..6d43de0af 100644
--- a/state/indexer/sink/psql/psql_test.go
+++ b/state/indexer/sink/psql/psql_test.go
@@ -33,7 +33,9 @@ var (
 	doPauseAtExit = flag.Bool("pause-at-exit", false,
 		"If true, pause the test until interrupted at shutdown, to allow debugging")
 
-	db *sql.DB
+	// A hook that test cases can call to obtain the shared database instance
+	// used for testing the sink. This is initialized in TestMain (see below).
+	testDB func() *sql.DB
 )
 
 const (
@@ -86,6 +88,7 @@ func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
 	// Connect to the database, clear any leftover data, and install the
 	// indexing schema.
 	conn := fmt.Sprintf(dsn, user, password, resource.GetPort(port+"/tcp"), dbName)
+	var db *sql.DB
 
 	if err := pool.Retry(func() error {
 		sink, err := NewEventSink(conn, chainID)
@@ -109,6 +112,9 @@ func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
 		log.Fatalf("Applying schema: %v", err)
 	}
 
+	// Set up the hook for tests to get the shared database handle.
+	testDB = func() *sql.DB { return db }
+
 	// Run the selected test cases.
 	code := m.Run()
 
@@ -130,12 +136,12 @@ func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
 }
 
 func TestType(t *testing.T) {
-	psqlSink := &EventSink{store: db, chainID: chainID}
+	psqlSink := &EventSink{store: testDB(), chainID: chainID}
 	assert.Equal(t, indexer.PSQL, psqlSink.Type())
 }
 
 func TestBlockFuncs(t *testing.T) {
-	indexer := &EventSink{store: db, chainID: chainID}
+	indexer := &EventSink{store: testDB(), chainID: chainID}
 	require.NoError(t, indexer.IndexBlockEvents(newTestBlockHeader()))
 
 	verifyBlock(t, 1)
@@ -156,7 +162,7 @@ func TestBlockFuncs(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestTxFuncs(t *testing.T) {
-	indexer := &EventSink{store: db, chainID: chainID}
+	indexer := &EventSink{store: testDB(), chainID: chainID}
 
 	txResult := txResultWithEvents([]abci.Event{
 		makeIndexedEvent("account.number", "1"),
@@ -189,7 +195,7 @@ func TestTxFuncs(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestStop(t *testing.T) {
-	indexer := &EventSink{store: db}
+	indexer := &EventSink{store: testDB()}
 	require.NoError(t, indexer.Stop())
 }
 
@@ -259,7 +265,7 @@ func txResultWithEvents(events []abci.Event) *abci.TxResult {
 func loadTxResult(hash []byte) (*abci.TxResult, error) {
 	hashString := fmt.Sprintf("%X", hash)
 	var resultData []byte
-	if err := db.QueryRow(`
+	if err := testDB().QueryRow(`
 SELECT tx_result FROM `+tableTxResults+` WHERE tx_hash = $1;
 `, hashString).Scan(&resultData); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("lookup transaction for hash %q failed: %v", hashString, err)
@@ -274,7 +280,7 @@ SELECT tx_result FROM `+tableTxResults+` WHERE tx_hash = $1;
 }
 
 func verifyTimeStamp(tableName string) error {
-	return db.QueryRow(fmt.Sprintf(`
+	return testDB().QueryRow(fmt.Sprintf(`
 SELECT DISTINCT %[1]s.created_at
   FROM %[1]s
   WHERE %[1]s.created_at >= $1;
@@ -283,7 +289,7 @@ SELECT DISTINCT %[1]s.created_at
 
 func verifyBlock(t *testing.T, height int64) {
 	// Check that the blocks table contains an entry for this height.
-	if err := db.QueryRow(`
+	if err := testDB().QueryRow(`
 SELECT height FROM `+tableBlocks+` WHERE height = $1;
 `, height).Err(); err == sql.ErrNoRows {
 		t.Errorf("No block found for height=%d", height)
@@ -292,7 +298,7 @@ SELECT height FROM `+tableBlocks+` WHERE height = $1;
 	}
 
 	// Verify the presence of begin_block and end_block events.
-	if err := db.QueryRow(`
+	if err := testDB().QueryRow(`
 SELECT type, height, chain_id FROM `+viewBlockEvents+`
   WHERE height = $1 AND type = $2 AND chain_id = $3;
 `, height, types.EventTypeBeginBlock, chainID).Err(); err == sql.ErrNoRows {
@@ -301,7 +307,7 @@ SELECT type, height, chain_id FROM `+viewBlockEvents+`
 		t.Fatalf("Database query failed: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	if err := db.QueryRow(`
+	if err := testDB().QueryRow(`
 SELECT type, height, chain_id FROM `+viewBlockEvents+`
   WHERE height = $1 AND type = $2 AND chain_id = $3;
 `, height, types.EventTypeEndBlock, chainID).Err(); err == sql.ErrNoRows {