Quarantine partially lifted at Monmouth Park

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.