EHV-1 Quarantine at Belmont, One Horse Euthanized

A filly at Belmont Park, who had been suspected with an equine herpesvirus-1 infection earlier this week, had to be humanely euthanized by midday Friday. The horse had been quarantined with 20 other horses in Barn 10 at the Long Island racetrack.

The quarantine is the second at Belmont this winter and, like the first, is expected to lead to scratches in stakes races this weekend at Laurel Park in Maryland.

In this week's EHV-1 case, the 4-year-old filly trained by Tom Albertrani developed a fever Feb. 12. By the evening of Feb. 15 the horse "began exhibiting clear neurologic symptoms," according to New York Racing Association officials. By midday Friday the filly's health had worsened and forced the decision to humanely euthanize her. The horse will be taken to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, N.Y., for a full necropsy.

The remaining 20 horses have been placed under a three-week mandatory quarantine. It comes just a few weeks after an earlier quarantine was lifted at the track's Barn 44 following a positive test for EHV-1. None of the other horses have displayed any symptoms or fevers. During the quarantine period, which began at 7 p.m. Thursday, the quarantined horses will be barred from racing, but will be allowed to train separate from the rest of the horse population.

The quarantine decision was made by NYRA and the state Gaming Commission. 

Oaklawn Park announced Friday that, effective immediately and until further notice, any horse that has been at the Thoroughbred Center near Lexington, Ky., or Belmont Park since Jan. 24 will not be permitted on the grounds because of the EHV-1 positives.