Update: Results for the third horse showing symptoms of equine herpesvirus at Calder Racetrack came back negative Saturday, Dec. 5. Calder officials lifted the quarantine on the barn with this horse and the two others that showed signs but tested negative.
Three other Calder barns remain under quarantine after a horse was diagnosed with EHV-1 on Nov 30. No other horses have tested positive. Calder officials hope to lift shipping restrictions on the entire stable area on Dec. 13 and to lift the quarantine for the three barns by Dec. 20.
Officials at Calder Race Course in Miami, Fla., are awaiting results of an equine herpesvirus-1 test on a third horse at their facility. Two of the three horses with elevated temperatures tested negative for the virus already. Michele Blanco, Director of Advertising and Public Relations, expects the results of the third horse tomorrow, Dec. 5.
On Nov. 30, a horse from Calder was euthanized after testing positive for EHV-1. The horse showed signs of illness on Nov. 28 and was transported to the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville, Fla., where it was tested and euthanized.
John Marshall, Calder vice president and general manager of racing, placed the barn with the infected horse and two other barns under quarantine according to TheHorse.com.
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The expanded quarantine raises the number of horses under quarantine from 56 to 118. The Miami Gardens racetrack has capacity for 1,800 horses, and the facility is nearly full.
“We’re taking even more precautions in addition to the quarantine,” Blanco said. “The horses in quarantine have their temperatures taken twice a day, and other measures are in place.”
Other measures include foot-washing stations in the quarantined barns and extra hand sanitizing measures for workers in those barns, Marshall told The Horse.
Under the quarantine, horses in the four barns are not permitted to race until Dec. 21. Separate from the general population, they can only train during designated hours and cannot be moved to other barns during the quarantine. Calder will not allow horses to ship in for stabling or to race through Dec. 14.
Calder announced the indefinite postponement of two graded stakes that were scheduled for Dec. 5.
