The Equine Disease Communication Center released the following update on the Laurel Park EHV-1 outbreak on March 20:
The Maryland Department of Agriculture has confirmed additional cases of EHV-1 at Laurel Park Racetrack.
A second horse in the same barn as the index horse began displaying clinical signs of EHV-1 and was confirmed positive on March 15. That horse did not respond to treatment and has been euthanized.
Following the second positive case, MDA Animal Health officials tested the remaining 20 horses housed in the same barn as the two positive horses on March 17. Those tests returned six positive results from asymptomatic horses. All positive horses have been removed from the barn and placed in isolated quarantine offsite.
The original hold order on the four impacted barns has been reset, and horses in the index barn will be retested prior to releasing the order. The department continues to work closely with Laurel Park Racetrack and Maryland Jockey Club to ensure that daily operations are able to continue as safely as possible with minimal disruption.
Friday's Stronach 5, which featured a carryover of $154,931, had 2,214 winning tickets, each returning $313.30.
There was $612,155 of new money wagered Friday. The Stronach 5 featured races from Laurel Park, Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields and an industry-low 12-percent takeout.
Sonata Stable's Paradise Song ($6.20), trained by Mike Trombetta, kicked off the Stronach 5 by winning Laurel's eighth race. The second leg, Gulfstream's eighth race, was won by Bahamian Girl ($11.80) while the 4-5 favorite Thunderinthevalley ($3.60) won Laurel's ninth race and the third leg of the sequence.
The Stronach 5 then headed west. Santa Anita's third race, the fourth leg of the sequence, was won by Hard Metal ($5.80). The Stronach 5 concluded with Golden Gate's third leg and favored Made in Karoo ($3) winning.
Friday's races and sequence
Leg One – Laurel Park 8th Race: Paradise Song $6.20
Leg Two – Gulfstream Park 8th Race: Bahamian Girl $11.80
Leg Three –Laurel Park 9th Race: Thunderinthevalley $3.60
Leg Four –Santa Anita Park 3rd Race: Hard Metal ($5.80)
Leg Five –Golden Gate Fields 3rd Race: Made in Karoo ($3)
Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com,GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.
The Stronach 5 In the Money podcast, hosted by Jonathan Kinchen and Peter Thomas Fornatale, will be posted by 2 p.m. Thursday at InTheMoneyPodcast.com and will be available on iTunes and other major podcast distributors
The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.
If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.
The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.
The lifting of restrictions resulting from an equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) quarantine at Laurel Park hinge on the results of test results expected in the coming days, veterinary officials said March 19.
The restrictions took effect March 8 when Barns 1, 4, 10 and 11 were placed under quarantine for 14 days at the outset. On March 17, Barn 20 was added to the quarantine list after a filly was discovered the have neurologic symptoms and was sent to the New Bolton Center in Pennsylvania for treatment and testing. The first of two tests came back negative.
During a Zoom meeting hosted by Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association March 19, Dr. Dionne Benson, Chief Veterinary Officer for The Stronach Group, and Dr. Michael Odian, the Maryland State Veterinarian, provided an update on the ongoing situation. Laurel Park has continued to offer live racing with restrictions on shippers.
Benson said the filly from Barn 20 that tested negative will be retested in 72 hours, and if the second test is negative, horses from Barn 20 will be permitted to train with the regular population. Six horses in Barn 4 tested positive for EHV-1 on March 17 and were transported to the former Bowie Training Center, where a barn was spruced up for quarantine use. The remaining horses in Barn 4 will be retested March 24. Benson said if those tests prove negative, the Barn 4 quarantine would be lifted March 29.
If there are no symptomatic horses found in Barns 1, 10 and 11, the quarantine on those barns would be lifted March 27, in time for them to race that weekend at Laurel.
“We hope to be on the other side of this a week from Monday (March 29),” Benson said.
“I understand these are frustrating times and we're trying to balance everything,” Odian said. “We're also trying to show other racing jurisdictions we are doing the best protocols possible to show we have the disease under control. I've been impressed with how easy everyone is to work with. The protocols are designed with a lot of factors in mind.”
In response to a question about when horses not in quarantined barns will be permitted to leave the grounds, Benson said if there are no new EHV-1 cases and the second tests on the horses in Barn 4 are negative, the quarantine would be lifted March 29.
The MJC Racing Office, to accommodate horsemen in quarantined barns, is working on a schedule to expand training hours on dark days—Monday through Thursday—and will inform horsemen when the times are determined. The MJC also said that, effective immediately, any horses shipping to Laurel or Pimlico during the quarantine must be approved by the Racing Office.
Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables and Robert LaPenta's impressive maiden winner Little Huntress, off the board in her season and stakes debut last month, returns as the narrow program favorite in Friday's feature as live racing returns to Laurel Park.
Post time for the first of nine races is 12:40 p.m.
Little Huntress, a gray or roan daughter of multiple Grade 1 winner Frosted, drew Post 2 in a field of eight for Friday's eighth race, an entry-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs. Sheldon Russell rides for his wife, trainer Brittany Russell.
A $100,000 yearling out of Keeneland's September 2019 sale, Little Huntress didn't debut until last November at Laurel when she ran second by less than a length as the favorite after setting the pace behind Journeytothemoon, fourth in the March 13 Beyond the Wire.
Stretched out to seven furlongs, Little Huntress responded with a front-running 14-length maiden special weight romp under wraps Dec. 27 at Laurel. The effort earned her a shot in the Feb. 20 Wide Country, also at seven-eighths. Little Huntress set a wicked pace of 22.62 and 44.91 seconds before tiring to be eighth as Street Lute went on to her sixth career stakes win.
Second choice at 7-2 is Sonata Stable's Paradise Song, a maiden special weight winner second time out Jan. 15 who was second by less than a length in an optional claimer Feb. 12, both going six furlongs at Laurel. Julian Pimentel rides for trainer Mike Trombetta from outside Post 8.
Among other entrants are Breeze Off the Bay, third to Street Lute in the Jan. 16 Xtra Heat; Pretty Lori, unraced since a 7 ½-length win in an off-the-turf maiden special weight last September for trainer Hamilton Smith; Malibu Beauty, fourth in the Dec. 26 Anne Arundel County; and Kewpie Doll, with a record of 2-3-1 from six career starts at Laurel.
The feature is part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence (Races 4-9) that will offer a carryover jackpot of $15,617.22 from Sunday's last live program. Race 7 is a six-furlong maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies that drew a field of eight including Above the Limit, second in a pair of maiden special events, most recently Feb. 28 at Laurel; and first-time starters Runners Dream, an Oregon-bred by champion sprinter Runhappy, Someday Is Today, Stir Crazy and Monster Rising.
The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 60 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 40 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
Laurel's eighth race also kicks off the national weekly Stronach 5 wager, which returns this week with a $154,931.69 carryover from March 7. The sequence continues with Race 8 from Gulfstream Park, Laurel's Race 9 and Race 3 from Santa Anita Park before wrapping up with Race 3 from Golden Gate Fields.
Maryland Jockey Club hosts and analysts Tim Tullock and Naomi Tukker give their picks for the Stronach 5.
The sports bar on Laurel's second-floor clubhouse will be open for both simulcasting as well as the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament starting Friday. The track is allowing a maximum of 400 patrons on live race days with all screening, social distancing and safety protocols in place.
