Horsemen hope for end to Belmont Park quarantine

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – New York racing officials and horsemen are hopeful that a quarantine placed on a Belmont Park barn Jan. 10 will be lifted later this week.

A horse trained by Linda Rice tested positive for the equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) on Jan. 9. That unraced 3-year-old male had a temperature for several days before being sent to the Cornell Ruffian Equine Hospital across the street from the Belmont barn area. The horse did not show any neurological signs of the virus.

The unnamed horse was returned to Belmont Park on Jan. 11 and was isolated in an empty barn on the backside. Meanwhile, horses in Barn 44, where Rice has about 40 horses and David Duggan six, were placed under quarantine.

The horse was scheduled to be re-tested Wednesday, and the results are expected back Thursday or Friday morning. NYRA has allowed both Rice and Duggan to enter horses for Friday’s Aqueduct card, and they will be permitted to run pending a negative EHV-1 test on that horse. Rice entered Holiday Disguise in the rescheduled $100,000 La Verdad Stakes.

On Monday, Rice said that the horse in question was doing well and did not have a temperature. She even showed a visitor a video of the horse charging the front of his stall when his handler was preparing his food.

“He shows no signs of illness,” Rice said. “He’s feeling very good and anxious to get back to work.”

During the quarantine period, horses stabled in Barn 44 were not permitted to train with the general horse population. Since Jan. 12, the training track has closed at 10 a.m. – 30 minutes earlier than usual – and from 10:15 to 11:15 horses based in Barn 44 were allowed to train.

Since the quarantine was put in place, horses based at Belmont have not been permitted to ship out of town.

Trainer Jason Servis is keeping close tabs on the situation as he has the filly Actress, winner of the Grade 3 Comely Stakes, stabled at Belmont Park and is thinking of shipping her to Sam Houston for the Grade 3, $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic on Jan. 28.

Servis said his only options are to fly the filly via FedEx, and those planes typically leave on Fridays.

If Servis and owners Gary and Mary West opt to skip that race, Actress is nominated to Sunday’s $100,000 Ladies Handicap at Aqueduct. As of Monday, a small field was expected for the Ladies, including Bombshell, Just Got Out, and Sherini. Possible runners included Girl Talk and Julerette.