Quarantine leads to scheduling changes; reduced MATCH Series to be held

Lockdowns at Maryland tracks due to an outbreak of equine herpesvirus among the state’s Thoroughbred population has created ripple effects throughout the region, with Charles Town Races in West Virginia canceling its Saturday card due to a shortage of entries and Laurel delaying one of its stakes-rich programs.

Charles Town regularly draws shippers from Maryland, but with horses at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course quarantined, the track has struggled over the past week to fill its races. The track, which races four days a week, drew 47 horses for its April 2 eight-race card, while 55 horses are entered for Thursday’s lineup. On Wednesday, only 49 horses ran its eight races.

1/ST, the company that owns Laurel and Pimlico, announced last week that lockdowns were being put in place on both of the tracks after a total of 26 horses tested positive for equine herpesvirus, a highly contagious disease, over the preceding two weeks. Those horses were all moved to the Bowie training center.

Laurel Park, which is currently running on a Friday-Sunday schedule, also canceled all racing through this weekend. The current quarantines, which were put in place last Friday, are scheduled to last through at least April 16.

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As a result of the restrictions, Laurel said on Wednesday that its Spring Stakes Spectacular, a card that includes seven stakes worth $750,000, will be moved from its original date of April 17 to April 24. The stakes on that day include the Federico Tesio Stakes, which guarantees the winner a spot in the May 15 Preakness, and the Weber City Miss, which guarantees the winner a spot in the May 14 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes.

Separately, 1/ST and the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association announced on Wednesday that a local divisional series known as MATCH would return in 2021, after a year in which the series was put on hiatus due to the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic. The series includes 24 races, with four of the races this year scheduled to be held at Colonial Downs in Virginia.

The first races in the series will be run on May 14 at Pimlico, and the last will be run on Dec. 26 at Laurel. Purses for the races total $2.75 million, and an additional $282,000 will be awarded in bonuses for the owners and trainers of the divisional leaders at the end of the series.