Laurel barn placed under quarantine after case of equine herpesvirus found

A barn at Laurel Park has been placed under quarantine after a horse previously stabled in the barn was diagnosed with equine herpesvirus.

The horse diagnosed was Knucker Punk, a 3-year-old colt trained by David Mohan. According to a Maryland Jockey Club spokesperson, the horse first started to display symptoms in the form of a fever on March 10.

Mohan said that Knucker Punk was taken off the grounds the same day and received a formal diagnosis at New Bolton Center, a veterinarian clinic at the University of Pennsylvania, where the horse has been kept since. Subsequent tests, including blood analysis and swabs, revealed that the virus was contained to the colt’s nasal cavity. He is faring well while undergoing treatment.

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The horse was diagnosed with equine herpesvirus 1, or EHV-1, a highly contagious form of the virus. If untreated, it has been known to cause respiratory problems, abortion, and neurological disease.

Several racing offices, including those at Gulfstream Park and Parx Racing, have alerted horsemen that they are temporarily barring horses shipping from Laurel at their tracks. Horses shipping to race at Laurel will not be allowed to return to those tracks for the time being.

Knucker Punk was stabled in Barn 31, one of several large tents that Laurel uses as stabling areas on the backstretch in addition to its wooden structures. Mohan shares the space with local trainers Somraj Singh, Rudy Sanchez, Joanne Shankle, Benny Feliciano Jr., Bob Klesaris, and Jose Magana. The trainer said that his horse has not traveled outside Maryland since entering his barn.

To this point, officials at Laurel have not reported any further cases of EHV-1. In an attempt to contain the source of the outbreak, horses in the quarantined barn are only permitted to train after normal training hours have concluded.

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