SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The New York Racing Association and the New York State Gaming Commission announced Thursday that horses in Barn 66 at Saratoga were under a 14-day quarantine that began on Saturday, June 21. A suspected case of strangles was confirmed after a positive test was returned Wednesday night on a 2-year-old George Weaver trainee stabled in that barn.
In addition, NYRA and the NYSGC have placed horses under the care of Weaver stabled in Barns 60 and 63 under a precautionary quarantine through June 28. Weaver's horses will be monitored for symptoms of strangles, which is a contagious bacterial infection that generally affects a horse’s respiratory system and causes symptoms similar to those of strep throat in humans.
Horses trained by Weaver at Saratoga were placed in quarantine as a precautionary measure beginning last Saturday, when the stricken filly first showed symptoms of strangles. They have been training after the general population at the Oklahoma training facility, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., for the past several days. NYRA said they are actively working to relocate quarantined horses to an alternate facility where they will have access to isolated training hours.
NYRA and the NYSGC have implemented standard infectious disease protocols, including restricting access to the horses in the affected barns, establishing a 24-hour security watch, mandating regular temperature checks for the horses in that barn, and enacting biosecurity measures for all individuals requiring access to Barns 60, 63, and 66.
Thursday’s announcement comes on the heels of two other strangles-related quarantines put in place at NYRA tracks over the past several weeks. The first, which ended last week, came at Saratoga due to a sick horse from the barn of trainer Jeremiah Englehart. The second, at Belmont Park, is scheduled to end Saturday after another Weaver horse tested positive for the disease.
Beyond the quarantine protocols currently in place, NYRA has enacted no additional restrictions on shipping horses in and out of Saratoga.
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