Quarantine of Belmont barn extended to Feb. 26

The quarantine of Barn 15 at Belmont Park has been extended by two days to Feb. 26 after a horse stabled in that barn was diagnosed with a fever, the New York Racing Association and New York State Gaming Commission announced Tuesday night.

Willful Desire, a 4-year-old filly trained by Gustavo Rodriguez, developed a fever Monday. Nasal swabs and blood tests taken on the horse at Cornell were negative for equine herpesvirus (EHV), the NYRA said.

Barn 15, which houses 34 horses, was initially placed under quarantine Saturday when the unraced filly Cute Curls showed symptoms of EHV and had to be euthanized. Tests taken on that horse came back positive for EHV.

Horses stabled in Barn 15 are not permitted to enter races at Aqueduct or train with the general horse population. NYRA has set aside time for those horses to train after regular training hours.

Nearby racetracks such as Parx Racing and Laurel Park are not permitting Belmont-based horses to race there at this time.

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