Entire Fair Grounds Backstretch Under Quarantine

Two more horses on the backstretch at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots spiked temperatures the morning of Jan. 2. As a result of this development, the precautionary step has been taken to place the entirety of the Fair Grounds backstretch under quarantine. 

Effective immediately, no horses will be permitted to ship in or ship out of the Fair Grounds. Track officials, in concert with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture, will continue to monitor the situation and make appropriate determinations in the interest of equine welfare as the situation progresses.

Test results Monday evening determined that the horse in Barn 14, trained by Tom Amoss, returned a negative result, while the horse in the receiving barn, trained by Chris Davis, returned a positive result for EHV-1 non-neurogenic type, also called "wild type" strain. As a result, the quarantine timeline on Barn 14 remains unchanged, with a current end date of Jan. 13, while the receiving barn is now under quarantine until Jan. 16 at the discretion of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture.

On Jan. 1 a third horse tested positive for equine herpes at Fair Grounds. That horse resides in Barn 36 and contracted the "wild type" strain. This strain is different than the strain of EHV-1 that has affected two horses in Barn 14 in the previous week. The infected horse has been isolated from the rest of the backstretch population in a different area than the previously isolated horse due to the differing strains.

Fair Grounds officials continue to monitor the situation closely under the guidance of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture, and continue to follow all protocols as directed by those two governing bodies.

Oaklawn Park, working in conjunction with the Arkansas State Racing Commission, is restricting horses from Louisiana. No horses that have been in Louisiana in the past 30 days will be permitted on the grounds until further notice.

David Longinotti, Oaklawn's Director of Racing, said the decision was reached after consulting with racing commission chairman Alex Lieblong and veterinarians who work for Oaklawn and the Racing Commission.

"We are being overly cautious because our main concern is for the safety and well-being of the more than 1,200 horses already stabled on our grounds," Longinotti said. 

Longinotti noted that commission chairman Lieblong strongly supports the action even though it will strand some of Lieblong's horses, which were scheduled to ship from Louisiana to Oaklawn.