On the recommendation of the Kentucky State Veterinarian’s Office, Churchill
Downs and its Trackside Louisville training center will not allow horses stabled
at Hoosier Park to enter either of those stable areas until further notice.
On September 12, Hoosier Park officials took precautionary measures and
placed 59 horses in quarantine when symptoms of the contagious bacterial disease
streptococcus equi, also known as strangles, was suspected in one Thoroughbred
stabled at the Anderson, Indiana facility. Hoosier Park is located about 160
miles north of Churchill Downs.
All horses stabled in that Hoosier Park barn have been quarantined and are
not allowed to mix with the general horse population at the track until test
results are returned from the lab. If the test returns a positive identification
of strangles, all quarantined horses will undergo mandatory testing for the
disease.
Owners and trainers may ship their Churchill Downs or Trackside
Louisville-based horses to race at Hoosier Park, but they will not be permitted
to return until officials satisfactorily determine that transmission of the
disease is no longer a concern.