Gulfstream lifts quarantine imposed after horse dies
Gulfstream Park lifted a quarantined that was imposed on two barns Wednesday after a horse died Tuesday.
"We were over-precautious just because that's what we're supposed to do," Mike Lakow, vice president of racing for Gulfstream told HRN. "And there's no signs of anything. We're back to normal."
Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinary officer for The Stronach Group, said in a statement earlier Wednesday that officials were notified a horse at Gulfstream had "fell ill while exhibiting neurological symptoms and was humanely euthanized."
Benson told HRN they had received "several reports that the horse was either loose in the morning and got into another barn, or the horse was out loose on the track and injured itself and then went to a barn that was not its own."
She said she could not identify the horse.
With increasing reports of equine herpesvirus, including at TSG's Laurel Park and Pimlico, Benson said officials needed to rule out the possibility of EHV as a cause of death.
"Because we had some conflicting reports, and because we didn't have real-time knowledge of the horse getting injured in the morning, and we were seeing the horse at 7:00 at night without anyone saying this horse had potential issues, we have to treat it as if it's a potentially a risk to the health of the horses on the backside."
Laurel Park and Pimlico have limited movement of horses in and out of the tracks because of the EHV outbreak.
She said samples were submitted for necropsy and analysis and that any results received Wednesday likely would determine only whether the cause of death was EHV. They might not indicate whether the cause of death was trauma or another factor, she said.
The Gulfstream Park website listed 13 horses that have been scratched by stewards from races Wednesday, though it could not be determined whether they are stabled in the quarantined barns. They are:
Race 1
#3 Dreaming of Gus
#6 Mayor Remo
Race 2
#3 Lease
Race 5
#3 Facts Only
#4 Gaga Oh La La
Race 6
#1 Dr. Duke
Race 7
#1 Lullula
#6 Sara Mia
#7 Mary of Scotland
Race 8
#4 Awesome Beach
#5 Hard Game
Race 10
#6 He Ain’t No Saint
#9 Unimpeached
This report will be updated.