The New York Racing Association and the New York State Gaming Commission have placed Barn 85 at Saratoga Race Course under a 14-day precautionary quarantine until further notice due to a positive case of strangles in that barn.
Strangles is a bacterial infection of the equine upper respiratory tract and highly contagious. The disease can be spread through horse-to-horse contact or by humans, including through tack, buckets, and other environmental factors. Cases occasionally occur at racetracks, farms, and training centers. When properly diagnosed and treated, affected horses can recover.
Barn 85 contains horses trained by Jeremiah Englehart and Jorge Abreu.
Horses currently entered to race from Barn 85 are expected to be scratched by NYSGC veterinarians.
The affected horse, an unraced 2-year-old named Tranquil Sea trained by Englehart, was referred to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital May 28 after developing breathing issues. He was subsequently tested for a number of potential ailments, and a positive test for strangles was returned Friday morning. The colt began treatment immediately and has been moved from Rood & Riddle to a private farm for quarantine and continued treatment.
Following official notification of the positive case by the NYS Department of Agriculture Friday morning, NYRA and the NYSGC implemented standard infectious disease protocols including restricting access to the horses in the quarantined barn, establishing a 24-hour security watch, mandating regular temperature checks for the horses in that barn and enacting biosecurity measures for all individuals requiring access to Barn 85.
Overseen by Dr. Sarah Hinchliffe, the director of NYRA's veterinary department, in consultation with the NYSGC, the Barn 85 quarantine is effective immediately.
Abreu has horses in both Barn 85 and Barn 86, and only the horses in Barn 85 are quarantined. The Abreu horses located in Barn 86 can train and race with the general population.
During the initial quarantine period, these horses will not be permitted to enter races or train among the general horse population. Afebrile/asymptomatic horses stabled in Barn 85 will have isolated training hours at the Oklahoma Training Track following the close of training for the general horse population at 10 a.m. local time.
As of Friday morning, three additional febrile horses have been identified in Barn 85. These horses will be removed from the property to undergo further evaluation.
NYRA has not imposed any shipping restrictions for horses in the general horse population entering or exiting Saratoga. However, other tracks or training centers—or the veterinarian officials that oversee equine health in their states—may institute their own restrictions.
A high number of horses are expected to ship to Saratoga next week for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinary officer for 1/ST Racing—which operates Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park, and other tracks and training centers—said she spoke with Hinchliffe Friday morning. She noted that with the affected horse previously being stabled in a barn annex separate from main stabling, and "with the protocols that have been put into place, at this time we do not plan to put in place any additional restrictions on shipping to and from Saratoga."
Rusty Ford, equine operations consultant for the Office of the State Veterinarian at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, said his office would also have no restrictions, noting the procedures in place at Saratoga and with the horse having been in an annex. He said he would urge horsemen to be mindful of biosecurity and disease mitigation.
Daily Racing Form reported the evening of May 30 that at least four racetracks—Finger Lakes, Laurel Park, Monmouth Park, and Parx Racing—have announced they will not be accepting shippers from Saratoga.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
