Two Weeks of Racing Canceled at Laurel Due to EHV-1

The Maryland Jockey Club has canceled racing March 26-28 at Laurel Park after an additional horse in the area tested positive for EHV-1, this time at the track's sister property, Pimlico Race Course, Laurel announced in a release the evening of March 25.

Racing will also be canceled next week, Craig Fravel, CEO of 1/ST Racing, said in a March 26 video conference with horsemen. 1/ST Racing is a division of The Stronach Group, which owns and operates Maryland Jockey Club tracks Laurel and Pimlico.

The cancellations follow 26 horses testing positive for EVH-1 at Maryland racetracks, with another 11 horses deemed "suspect," said Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinarian for 1/ST Racing. The 26 positive horses have been sent to Bowie, a former Maryland racetrack that now serves as a training center.

The cancellations were made "in the interest of giving everyone opportunity to back off a little bit, lower the stress on the environment, and continue to try and work our way through this situation," Fravel said. "As you all know, as racetrack managers, it's not in our DNA to cancel racing. Unfortunately, with COVID and a number of other situations we've gotten far too accustomed to it. But I think we live in a world now where caution is the better part of valor."

EHV-1, from the family of the equine herpesvirus, is a common virus that can cause respiratory and neurological disease and abortion in pregnant mares. It can spread directly from horse-to-horse contact and can be passed to horses by humans from the use of contaminated clothing, tack, feed and water buckets, and equipment. The air around the horse that is shedding the virus can also carry it.

Multiple horses tested positive at Laurel beginning March 9, prior to the first positive at Pimlico. Horses frequently ship between the two tracks and are often stabled at one location but run at the other. The MJC was notified of the Pimlico positive on the evening of March 25 by Maryland state veterinarian Dr. Michael Odian. The horse had been isolated for 72 hours prior to the positive test. 

As a result of the positives, and as a proactive measure to protect the horse population in the state of Maryland, horses currently stabled at Pimlico will not be allowed to ship to Laurel until a restriction on travel is lifted at both properties. Previously, the two properties had been considered as one facility. The two tracks and Bowie will be treated as separate quarantine zones.

BLOODHORSE STAFF: Additional Horses Test Positive for EHV-1 at Laurel

According to Benson, a state-required 21-day quarantine of Pimlico will last through at least April 12, depending on upcoming test results, and the quarantine at Laurel will last through April 17, again dependent on test results.

One challenge of the virus is it can be carried by asymptomatic horses, with veterinarians on the video conference indicating that could represent 30% of the population.

This led some horsemen and a practicing racetrack veterinarian on the call to express frustration at how long the quarantine could be extended if testing is done on horses registering a fever of 101.5 degrees or higher, as recommended. With each positive case, the 21-day quarantine timeline is reset.

Owner Bob Bone has been impacted by COVID-19 cases from reduced racing and restrictions on his Maryland-stabled horses. He suggested to horsemen and track leaders on the video conference to ponder an assistance program for affected horsemen.

"It's probably been a $100,000 hit for me so far. I don't know how much more I can take," he said.