Quarantine lifted at Laurel Park barn

The Maryland Department of Agriculture lifted the quarantine of Barn 20 at Laurel Park on Tuesday evening after the horse English Tudor tested negative for the equine herpesvirus, according to Georganne Hale, vice president of racing for the Maryland Jockey Club.

"I received a call tonight from Dr. Stevens of the Maryland Department of Agriculture that English Tudor had tested negative," Hale said. "Barn 20 at Laurel Park has been released from the quarantine."

Veterinarian Marla Stevens is the field inspector for the Frederick, Md., laboratory of the Department of Agriculture.

The horses stabled in Barn 20 are now free to train with the general horse population and to race. Trainers Tony Aguirre, John Salzman Jr., Katie Voss, and Linda Albert are stabled in that barn.

Earlier this month, English Tudor was sent to the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa., to be gelded. While the horse was there, his owner decided to transfer him from King Leatherbury to Aguirre and vanned the horse to Aguirre's stable.

The New Bolton Center has since had three horses – one who had recently been there and two that were there – test positive for the equine herpesvirus. They reached out to all of the horses who came in contact with the infected animals and recommended they be tested for the virus.

According to Aguirre, English Tudor was never sick and was training well. But he tested positive for the virus last Friday and was moved offtrack to a farm.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture placed the barn under quarantine until Jan. 30, which would have been three weeks after English Tudor left New Bolton, but agreed to retest him Tuesday and lift the quarantine if he was negative for the virus.

During the quarantine, the horses in Barn 20 were not allowed to train, race, or leave the barn.

Since the quarantine began, Parx Racing and Penn National have not been allowing horses who ship to Laurel to race to return home. Charles Town, Fair Hill, and Aqueduct have been allowing horses to race at Laurel and then return.

On Wednesday morning, Parx updated its policy to allow horses based at Parx to race at Laurel and return home, according to Sam Elliott, the track’s director of racing. Horses stabled at Laurel will be allowed to race at Parx, with the exception of horses from Barn 20, who will not be allowed to ship to Parx until Feb. 2.

“Our vets want to be a little more cautious with those horses,” Elliott said.

Eric Johnston, director of racing operations at Penn National, said his track has lifted all restrictions regarding the quarantine.

Horses stabled at Belmont Park have not been allowed to ship to Laurel since an equine herpesvirus quarantine was put in place there Jan. 10.

On Tuesday, the New Bolton Center began admitting horses for elective procedures for the first time since they had their first herpes positive Jan. 16. Two of their barns remain under quarantine, and the horses who tested positive while at New Bolton are currently housed in an isolation facility there.