Two Parx barns under quarantine after suspected equine herpes infection

Two barns at Parx racetrack outside Philadelphia have been placed under quarantine due to a suspected case of equine herpesvirus, a highly contagious disease, according to the track’s racing secretary.

David Osojnak, the racing secretary, said the quarantines were put in place after a horse exhibiting symptoms of equine herpesvirus was euthanized at the track on Sunday. The track has not determined how long the quarantine will be in place, but the track is also not allowing horses to ship out for the time being, Osojnak said.

Additional tests are being performed on the dead horse to confirm that the horse was positive for the virus, Osojnak said.

Parx is hosting four $100,000 stakes on Tuesday, and several New York-based trainers said on Monday that they intended to scratch their horses from the races. The track is also planning to have a mandatory payout of its jackpot-style bet, the Philly Big 5, on its Wednesday card. The carryover going into the Monday card was nearly $450,000.

On Sunday, the New York Racing Association put in place a ban on shippers from Parx racetrack due to concern over the case.

"On Sunday morning, NYRA’s director of veterinarians was informed of a possible neurological issue with a horse based at Parx,” said Patrick McKenna, a spokesman for NYRA. “For precautionary reasons, NYRA will not be accepting entries from Parx-based horses until the investigation is complete and the issue is resolved to the satisfaction of NYRA.”

Officials for Pennsylvania state racing commission would not comment when contacted on Monday or did not return phone calls.

Equine herpesvirus can sometimes be lethal, and it can easily spread among horse populations if it is not contained.

--Additional reporting by Dave Grening