Second horse euthanized at Pimlico; new restrictions placed
on Kentucky horses
A horse from Barn 6 at Pimlico Race Course was euthanized Friday morning after showing neurological
signs consistent with Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), causing officials from the
Maryland Department of Agriculture to place a “Hold Order” on the 43
horses located in the barn.
“This morning in Barn 6 one horse who had been previously healthy became very
sick and demonstrated neurologic signs to a point where it was unable to rise
even with assistance,” said Maryland State Veterinarian Guy Hohenhaus. “The
owners opted, after discussions with their veterinarians, to euthanize the
animal and submit it for postmortem examination at the College Park laboratory.”
Horses trained by Simon Purdy, Crystal Pickett, Henry Walters, Judith
DiNatale, Joseph Ayres Sr. and Joseph Ayres Jr. are all affected by the new Hold
Order. They are not allowed to race until further notice and may only train from
10 to 11 a.m. (EST).
Also on Friday morning, the Maryland Department of Agriculture received test results
on five of six horses currently in isolation in the Detention Barn, with all
showing positives for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which is used to
detect the presence of the virus in the blood. Test results on the sixth horse,
who developed a fever on Monday, will be available next week.
“This means we are still dealing with an active herpes outbreak but all the
animals in Barn 8 (Detention Barn) have all shown improvement,” Hohenhaus said.
“Things have also stabilized in Barn 5 where we have not had a sick animal since
Monday.”
The EHV-1 outbreak at Pimlico can be traced back to a horse from Barn 5, who
was euthanized on January 2 and later identified as carrying the virus. A Hold
Order has been on Barn 5 since Sunday.
Turfway Park officials are battling their own outbreak of EHV-1, with Barns
26 and 27 remaining under quarantine. Horses were moved from the Outrider and
Pony Barns to different quarantine facilities off track grounds and a Western
Kentucky training center also remains quarantined.
Also, the West Virginia Racing Commission has announced that any horses from
Kentucky are currently prohibited entry onto the grounds of Mountaineer Park and
Charles Town.