Quarantine lifted at Payson Park

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Department of Agriculture on Tuesday lifted the quarantine at Payson Park that had been in effect since a horse at the facility tested positive for the equine herpesvirus March 1. But Gulfstream Park officials said they will not accept entries from horses stabled at Payson Park until the standard 21-day quarantine period has expired.

“The protocol in these types of circumstances has always been 21 days, and that’s the guidelines we will continue to follow,” said P.J. Campo, vice president of racing and general manager at Gulfstream Park. “That means the first day we’ll take entries from horses stabled at Payson will be for the program of March 23.”

Officials from Tampa Bay Downs said Wednesday that they too would not accept entries from horses stabled at Payson until the 21 days had elapsed.

Nearly 500 horses have been affected by the quarantine, including those from the stables of trainers Christophe Clement, Shug McGaughey, and Bill Mott.

Among the notable horses whose racing schedule has had to be altered due to the ban is Carina Mia, one of the top 3-year-old fillies in the country, who had been scheduled to make her 2016 debut earlier this month for Mott in the Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Carina Mia is among the nominees for the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks on April 2.