The quarantine at Monmouth Park due to cases of equine herpesvirus (EHV-1)
was partially lifted on Friday after tests on two horses showing possible signs
of the disease came back negative. As a result, the quarantine was lifted on
horses in the “general population” barns at the New Jersey track.
Since the quarantine was instituted on October 26, none of the horses from
the general population have become infected with the virus. Those barns house
roughly 1,000 horses.
“No other horses from the general population with any clinical signs
consistent with the disease have tested positive for more than 12 days since the
inception of the quarantine, so we feel confident we can let them leave Monmouth
Park,” New Jersey State Veterinarian Dr. Nancy Halpern said. “However, the
quarantine remains on approximately 100 horses who either tested positive or
were directly exposed to infected horses.”
The quarantine began when at least four horses tested positive in late
October. Those four, and other horses at Monmouth Park that had contact with
those horses, were separated from the rest of the equine population and placed
in designated quarantine barns. All horses in the quarantine barns will not be
permitted to move to other facilities until they have shown no indications of
the disease for at least 21 days.
During the quarantine, horses in the general population barns were allowed to leave
Monmouth only to race at the Meadowlands and then be brought directly back to
Monmouth. All movement was conducted using strict bio-security measures.
During the first weekend in November, two horses from the general population
became a concern after one showed neurologic signs and the other registered a
fever. However, both horses tested negative, allowing horses in the general
population to be released from quarantine.