Arapahoe Park under quarantine due to case of Equine Infectious Anemia

Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colo., has been placed under quarantine after a horse on the grounds tested positive for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), the track announced Friday. The lockdown restricts movement of horses both in and out of the stable area, but racing can be conducted, and the track’s program went on as scheduled Friday.

Arapahoe announced that the horse with the positive Coggins test is in isolation.

The USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory informed the Colorado Department of Agriculture of the positive on Thursday. There are “confirmatory tests” being run, according to a release issued by the Colorado Department of Agriculture, which described the horse as “non-racing” and having been in the state fewer than 60 days. The horse arrived from an “out-of-state track,” according to the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

As a general rule, racetracks require proof of a negative Coggins test before any horse, including a pony, is allowed through the stable gate. Coggins tests are traditionally renewed on an annual basis. When they near expiration for a horse stabled on the track, veterinarians pull blood to submit for updated tests. The horse in question last tested negative in May 2015, according to the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Arapahoe opened for racing May 20.

EIA is a rare, incurable viral disease spread by biting flies, and infected animals must either be quarantined for life or euthanized, according to the release from the Colorado Department of Agriculture. The agency said that because it is early in Colorado’s fly season, the risk of transmission to other horses at the track is “relatively low.”

Arapahoe is conducting a mixed meet for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses.