Kentucky Places Restrictions on Louisiana Horses

The Office of the Kentucky State Veterinarian has imposed an embargo on horses from any Louisiana track or training center from entering any Kentucky track or training center as a result of the positive tests for equine herpesvirus in horses at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

While the directive does not preclude the transport of horses from tracks in the Bayou state to Kentucky farms, it prevents any horses from Louisiana tracks and training centers from shipping to Keeneland for next week's January horses of all ages sale.

Geoffrey Russell, director of sales operations at Keeneland, said it is uncertain how many sale horses are located in Louisiana and would thus have to be withdrawn from the sale. He said Keeneland officials have sent copies of the Kentucky veterinarian's order to all consignors.

Rusty Ford, equine programs manager for the Office of the Kentucky State Veterinarian, said the embargo applies to any horses that have been at a Louisiana track or training facility since Dec. 10.

Five horses based at Fair Grounds have tested positive for EHV-1. With a quarantine in place, horses cannot enter or leave the New Orleans track.

Ford said the restrictions are not applicable to farms at this time, because at-risk horses at those locations could be isolated from the rest of the equine population, but that some precautions should be taken. Ford said he has received calls from Kentucky farm operations about how to handle Louisiana shippers.

"I have advised these callers that they should weigh the risk-to-benefit, consult their own veterinarians, and if they do elect to accept horses that are identified as posing an increased risk of disease introduction, they should take precautionary measures to insure all new arrivals are isolated in an area with heightened biosecurity measures implemented and monitored for signs of illness," Ford said. "In addition, our farms should have a clear and factual understanding of the new arrival's past travel history and that these horses will not be permitted to move from the farm to a Kentucky track until they have been off the Louisiana track (or) training facility a minimum of 30 days."

Ford said the veterinarian's office will continue to monitor the Louisiana situation and that updates will posted at www.equinediseasecc.org.

Here is the text summary from the Office of the Kentucky State Veterinarian regarding the restrictions:

1) An outbreak of EHV1 continues to be reported at Fair Grounds Race Course in Louisiana.

2) Horses in multiple barns have been confirmed as affected with the virus.

3) Both the "wild" and "mutated" strains of EHV1 have been detected circulating at Fair Grounds.

4) The Louisiana track is currently under an order of quarantine imposed by the Louisiana Department Agriculture.

5) There is concern that horses exposed at Fair Grounds had relocated to other tracks or training centers in Louisiana. There is no evidence of active disease being in those other environments today.

6) With the quarantine in place, horses from Fair Grounds are prohibited entry onto a Kentucky track.

7) With the evidence suggesting (the) virus was circulating (Dec. 10), and that horses had left the track to area training centers, the Kentucky Office of State Veterinarian is directing that no horse that has resided or been on a Louisiana race track or training center since (Dec. 10) shall be allowed entry onto a Kentucky track at this time.

Any horse that has been in these environments must come with certification that they have been removed a minimal 30 days to qualify for entry onto a Kentucky track, in addition to their meeting standard health requirements.

 

The Kentucky Office of State Veterinarian will have inspector(s) monitoring the daily movement of horses onto tracks currently conducting live racing. We will continue to monitor developments in Louisiana and will adjust our mitigating strategies as needed.