Penn National barn on lockdown after equine herpesvirus case

Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pa., has placed a lockdown on one of its barns after a horse that had been transferred to a medical facility tested positive for exposure to equine herpesvirus, a highly contagious disease, according to track officials.

Eric Johnston, Penn National’s director of racing, said that all horses in the barn that housed the exposed horse will be checked and tested daily for the next seven days. The horses in the barn will not be allowed to train or race during that time, Johnston said, but the track is not placing any of its own restrictions on horses shipping in or out of the track, at least for the time being.

“It’s more out of an abundance of caution,” Johnston said. “We don’t think, right now, it’s a big issue. It’s just a question of monitoring the horses for any signs and symptoms.”

Horses that planned to ship in to the track over the next several days are being allowed to scratch “without cause” because of the case, Johnston said.

Equine herpesvirus causes neurological issues and can sometimes be fatal. The disease is easily spread among horses in close quarters. The horse who tested positive had been shipped to the New Bolton Center on Thursday, Johnston said. The horse was not displaying symptoms of the disease.

Several tracks have already announced that they will not accept horses from Penn National on to their backstretches, including the tracks operated by the New York Racing Association and Maryland Jockey Club, officials for those tracks said Friday morning. In addition, Parx Racing outside of Philadelphia is not allowing Penn National horses to ship in. Parx only recently lifted its own herpesvirus quarantine.

Penn National has a dark week beginning April 9, running through April 19. The track runs year-round, usually racing three days a week.

“Hopefully, that gives us a little time to get this all sorted out,” Johnston said.