Hollywood bars horses from Northern California

Hollywood Park officials have banned Northern California-based horses from the Inglewood, Calif., track because a horse at Bay Meadows tested positive for the equine herpesvirus, Hollywood Park informed horsemen on Thursday.

The California Horse Racing Board has not declared an official quarantine, but it was informed of Hollywood Park's actions, according to a racing board spokesman, Mike Marten. He described the Hollywood Park ban as "an individual racetrack decision."

Trainer Armando Lage said the horse that tested positive was a filly from his barn at Bay Meadows. She was sent to the University of California at Davis, where she came up positive for equine herpes, he said.

"As soon as we spotted something, we got her out of the barn," he said. "We immediately tested all our other horses, and, knock on wood, none tested positive."

Other horses stabled in the same barn as Lage are being tested, but no further positives have been reported, Marten said on Friday.

A statement published on a Hollywood Park overnight said, "We anticipate that it will shortly be determined that the situation is well in hand and that we will be able to lift this restriction in a few days."