Laurel Park barn is quarantined for equine herpesvirus case

A barn at Laurel Park is under quarantine and at least three tracks and one training center stopped accepting shippers from there until further notice after a horse tested positive for equine herpesvirus-1.

A horse in barn 31 came down with a fever and was diagnosed with EHV-1 at a local clinic according to a text message to Horse Racing Nation on Saturday from Dan Illman of Maryland Jockey Club, which operates Laurel. The horse, identified by Daily Racing Form as David Mohan-trained 3-year-old colt Knucker Punk, has been off the Laurel grounds since Monday and still was a the clinic Saturday.

Laurel Park has put barn 31 under quarantine. Horses in the barn can train after regular training hours while the quarantine is in effect. As of Saturday morning no restrictions affect horses stabled in barns other than barn 31.

Gulfstream horsemen were notified by text early Saturday that shippers from Laurel would not be accepted at the track or at Palm Meadows, its associated training center. Horsemen at Tampa Bay Downs and Parx were likewises informed via text messages that shippers from Laurel were barred.

There is no racing at Laurel Park during the Virginia Derby meeting at Colonial Downs, which began Thursday and runs through Saturday. Laurel Park last raced on Sunday, before the EHV-1 diagnosis, and is scheduled to resume Friday. That card is expected to be drawn Saturday, and as of Saturday Illman does not anticipate a change to the racing schedule.

EHV-1 typically causes respiratory illness in equines and can also cause pregnant mares to abort their foals, though in some cases the disease can progress into equine herpesvirus myeloencphalopathy, a serious neurological condition. It is typically transmitted via contact with infected horses or by airborne transmission according to the Merck Veterinary Manual.