Woodbine: All restrictions due to equine herpesvirus lifted

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – All restrictions placed on horses in Woodbine’s Barn 1, which had been under quarantine since June 12, were removed Wednesday.

Adam Chambers, manager of veterinary services for the Ontario Racing Commission, announced that all horses in the barn had tested negative twice for the equine herpesvirus that infected five horses in that barn.

One 2-year-old had to be euthanized and another was sent to the University of Guelph’s veterinary clinic, where he recovered and is now on the farm.

Barn 3 also was quarantined briefly due to the presence of a stable pony that had been in direct contact with an infected horse. That quarantine was lifted June 19.

Wednesday’s announcement means that in-and-out traffic can resume in Barn 1, which is home to 64 horses.

Chambers has been in contact with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but said it is hard to generalize as to how cross-border traffic from Woodbine might be affected in the immediate future.

“There is no ban, but even at the best of times you’re not guaranteed to get across,” Chambers said. “It really depends on the veterinarian at the border.”