Fair Grounds quarantine makes Gun Runner unlikely for Pegasus World Cup

Gun Runner, the 2016 Clark Handicap winner, is likely out of consideration for the $12 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in south Florida on Jan. 28 due to the equine herpesvirus outbreak at Fair Grounds, the New Orleans track where the 4-year-old is stabled.

While the owners of the horse have not ruled out the Pegasus, racing officials at Gulfstream said on Wednesday that they are not currently allowing any horses from Fair Grounds onto their backstretch. That policy will be in place until all horses on the Fair Grounds backstretch test negative for the highly contagious disease, said Gulfstream general manager P.J. Campo.

“They need to contain the problem,” Campo said. “Dealing with that is a nightmare.”

Five horses have tested positive for the equine herpesvirus on the Fair Grounds backstretch since Dec. 26, leading to multiple quarantines of barns on the backstretch. The latest horse to test positive is trained by Steve Asmussen, who also trains Gun Runner. However, Gun Runner is not stabled in the same barn as the horse who tested positive.

Gun Runner has been targeted by several owners of Pegasus slots looking to find a horse as their starter, and his removal from consideration likely will increase the pressure the groups are facing in finding a competitive horse for the race, which will award $7 million to the winner. The owners each put up $1 million to buy a nonrefundable slot in the starting gate for the race.

Right now, eight horses are being pointed to the Pegasus, including the one-two finishers in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic, Arrogate and California Chrome. The most recently announced target of a deal to start a horse in the Pegasus is War Story, who was beaten more than 25 lengths by the top two finishers in the Classic, and there are few top-class horses out there beyond Gun Runner.

The owners of another horse being eyed by Pegasus slot owners, Midnight Storm, said they weren’t interested in running in the race, two days after the horse won the San Pasqual Stakes on Sunday at Santa Anita. The horse’s owners made that announcement to be “fair” to the Pegasus slot owners who were seeking a horse.

Doug Cauthen, the vice chairman of Three Chimneys Farm, which co-owns Gun Runner, said the ownership group is “playing it by ear” in talking with Pegasus groups, but he acknowledged that the Fair Grounds situation has made the talks difficult.

“If the horse doesn’t get [out of quarantine], it’s a moot point, and we can say it wasn’t meant to be,” Cauthen said. “If he does get out, he will be ready.”

Gun Runner has worked twice at Fair Grounds since winning the Clark at Churchill Downs on Nov. 25.

It’s possible that the quarantine of the Fair Grounds backstretch could be lifted as early as Jan. 16, but Campo said he would not speculate as to when Gulfstream would resume allowing Fair Grounds horses onto the grounds.

“I can’t talk about the ‘if, then, maybe’ part of this until every single horse [at Fair Grounds] has tested negative,” Campo said. “It’s a hypothetical situation until they get this under control.”