One Barn at Churchill Downs Quarantined Due to EHV-1

A barn at Churchill Downs stabling 13 horses was quarantined Nov. 29 after an unidentified horse became sick there, and later, while the horse was being treated at an equine medical clinic, testing determined it has the contagious equine herpesvirus.

The ill horse, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., has shown signs of recovering from fever Tuesday while at a Lexington equine clinic, according to Rusty Ford, equine operations consultant for the Office of the State Veterinarian at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Ford also confirmed the equine herpesvirus finding, with the horse testing positive for a strain called EHV-1.

EHV-1 has been discovered elsewhere in the U.S. this year, including at Fonner Park and Parx Racing. Some horses with EHV-1 can experience loss of coordination, hind limb weakness, and lethargy, while others show only mild symptoms, or are asymptomatic carriers.

Ford said the unidentified horse was sent to the clinic after experiencing fever, some awkward hind-end movement, and bladder control issues. The 13 horses in the quarantined barn are trained by three different trainers, Ford said.

Quarantines are meant to reduce the chance of spread among the full horse population. They typically remain in place on horses in barns until state veterinary officials receive follow-up testing that no tested horses are sick or asymptomatic carriers and a designated period of time elapses. They can sometimes last for two weeks or more.

"We are proactively going to test all of those horses in that barn tomorrow morning," Churchill Downs Inc. equine medical director Will Farmer said. "We will make a plan once all those results come back."

He and Ford said they anticipated those test results by late Nov. 30 or early Dec. 1. The horses in the barn will not be permitted to train Wednesday.

Late November is a busy shipping time in Kentucky, with many horses sent south nearing or after the end of the Churchill Downs fall meet for winter racing in warmer climates. Churchill Downs wrapped up its meet Nov. 27.

In response to the quarantine, 1/ST Racing, which operates Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields, and Gulfstream Park, among other racetracks and properties across the country, has instituted a ban on shippers from Churchill Downs, pending released veterinary findings and communication with Churchill Downs.

Horses shipping from Churchill Downs Trackside, a training center owned by Churchill Downs but located five miles from the facility, are not affected by the ban provided their health certificate indicates they were at Trackside, according to Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinary officer with 1/ST Racing. 

She said the 1/ST Racing ban could be adjusted depending on the test results and updates from Farmer and Kentucky Agriculture officials.

"We've been on the other side of this a couple of times," she said.

The New York Racing Association opted for no such wide ban, noting in its statement that the general horse population is not impacted. A spokesman noted that just one horse is scheduled to ship into Aqueduct Racetrack for weekend racing.

Woodbine announced that any horse that has been stabled at Churchill Downs within the last two weeks will not be permitted on the Woodbine Racetrack property.