Equine herpesvurus outbreak appears contained but two more horses test positive

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario said in a Wednesday release that an outbreak of equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) on the Woodbine backstretch appears to be contained.

“The mitigation strategies that have been put in place appear to be working, and the retesting efforts will confirm this status,” the release said. “The AGCO is continuing to monitor the situation closely, and new significant developments will be reported in upcoming notices.”

The positive cases have been limited to Barn 12, and a single horse in Barn 10.

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The horses in Barn 12 were retested on Monday, and two more horses tested positive, bringing the total to 29. Those two horses were removed and isolated. All other horses tested negative, and they will be retested on Thursday. If the results are negative and there are no clinical signs, these horses will be permitted to train as a segregated group on Friday.

The Barn 10 horses were retested Tuesday, with all samples coming back negative. They will be retested Monday.

Horses in two other barns, and two horses isolated in Barn 11, were retested Wednesday, with the results pending.

Horses are not allowed to ship out of Woodbine, a restriction which will impact the beginning of the Fort Erie meet if it remains in place next week. Fort Erie, which is scheduled to open Tuesday, usually depends on Woodbine shippers to help fill races