Herpesvirus quarantine lifted on barns at Turfway, Keeneland

All barns that were quarantined at Turfway and Keeneland after the discovery of the equine herpesvirus were released Friday by Kentucky Agriculture officials after clean tests were returned following a 14-day isolation period.

The horses who resided in the barns, one barn at Turfway and two at Keeneland, are now eligible to train and race with the general horse population.

Horses that did test positive for the herpesvirus and were isolated remain under regulatory monitoring and are quarantined in secured areas, according to Rusty Ford, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture equine programs manager.

“We appreciate the commitment and cooperation of Kentucky’s horsemen, track managers, racing officials, veterinarians and all others who worked to resolve these events,” he said in an email release.

The barns at Turfway and Keeneland came under quarantine after a filly that had been shipped off the grounds at Turfway to prepare for the breeding season had tested positive for the wild strain of the virus. No horses on the track ever developed or tested positive for the neuropathic strain, which was found in a sick horse at Highpointe Training Center in Oldham County, Ky., in January.

Horses who had been at Fair Grounds or any other Louisiana facility where the equine herpesvirus was found earlier this year remain under shipping restrictions to Kentucky.