California institutes precautions after vesicular stomatitis found at Turf Paradise

ARCADIA, Calif. - The California Horse Racing Board has banned horses from Turf Paradise racetrack from being shipped to California racetracks after the viral disease vesicular stomatitis was detected in a horse based at the Phoenix racetrack, the racing board announced on Thursday.

The racing board said in a statement that it was acting on a report from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Horses from Turf Paradise will be denied access to the state’s racetracks and other jurisdictions, such as training centers, under the racing board’s authority.

Horses from Turf Paradise that have already arrived at California’s racetracks have been placed under surveillance.

Rick Arthur, California equine medical director, said in an interview on Thursday that 20 to 30 horses from Turf Paradise have been shipped to Golden Gate Fields, Los Alamitos, the San Luis Rey Downs training center and Santa Anita and are under surveillance.

“We’re monitoring this very closely,” he said. “We’ll know more in a week or 10 days.”

In its statement, the racing board described vesicular stomatitis as: “A contagious viral disease that affects horses, cattle and pigs. It can be transmitted by insects or through animal-to-animal contact. While human infection is not common, the virus can produce flulike illness in people.”

The Turf Paradise meeting ended on Tuesday and some runners from that circuit have been shipped to tracks and training centers in Northern and Southern California. Others still at Turf Paradise were to be shipped to California’s racetracks before the racing board’s action.