Delta Downs bans Turfway shippers

Delta Downs in Vinton, La., has become the latest track to ban shippers from Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky, citing a case of equine herpesvirus diagnosed at the track last week.

In a notice to horsemen, Delta said the ban was “temporary” and was put in place “to ensure the health and safety of [the] Delta Downs horse population.”

Delta is one of the a number of tracks that have banned horses from Turfway since Kentucky’s agriculture department placed a barn at the track under quarantine after a horse that had tested positive for EHV-1 was euthanized on Friday. Laurel Park in Maryland and Oaklawn Park in Arkansas have also banned Turfway shippers.

EHV-1 is a highly contagious disease that can sometimes be fatal. Outbreaks of the disease have disrupted racing schedules at tracks across the U.S. over the past decade, and, earlier this winter, both Laurel and Belmont Park in New York have had to place barns under quarantine because of concerns over the disease.