Kent County farm horses test negative for virus

All 17 horses at a Kent County farm in Maryland have tested negative for

Equine Herpesvirus (EHV-1), and the Hold Order placed on the farm was expected to

be lifted on Saturday by the Maryland Department of Agriculture following a

final veterinary inspection. Once the Hold Order, which has been in place since

January 26, is lifted, the horses on the farm can resume normal activities.

Two horses at the farm were euthanized due to the virus on January 26, but no

clinical signs of EHV-1 have been observed at the facility since February 4.

On Friday morning, the Maryland Department of Agriculture lifted the Hold

Order on Barn 9 at Laurel Park after 34 horses tested negative for the virus.

Those horses were allowed to resume normal activities. However, two who didn't

clear the testing process were moved to Bowie Training Center until they also

test negative.

At Pimlico, four of the six horses in the Detention Barn tested negative in

both blood samples and nasal swab tests, and were moved back to their original

barns to get back to their normal routines. The other two aren't showing any

signs of EHV-1, but will remain isolated from the general horse population until

they do test negative.