The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has released 19 horses trained by David Carroll from a 13-day quarantine in Barn 47 at Churchill Downs, the Louisville, Ky. race track announced Nov. 7.
Carroll’s horses, 18 Thoroughbreds and a stable pony, were confined to that barn Oct. 26 after a 3-year-old in his care tested positive for equine herpes virus (EHV-1). The infected horse was removed from Carroll’s barn and taken to an equine hospital in Lexington for tests and treatment. On Nov. 6, a third round of nasal and blood tests was performed on the trainer’s horses by the office of the state veterinarian, and the next day Carroll was given permission to return his horses to regular morning training.
According to Rusty Ford, equine programs manager for the state veterinarian’s office, none of Carroll’s horses “showed any evidence of illness.” Ford said the risk of exposure to the infection from Carroll’s horses was minimal.
Sixteen horses trained by Al Stall Jr. that were originally included in the Barn 47 quarantine with Carroll’s stable were allowed to return to regular training last week. A firewall in the barn separated Stall’s horses from Carroll’s trainees.
Carroll’s stable had also been allowed to return to minimal training last week, but his horses were only permitted on the track following live racing programs on four days prior to the Nov. 3 switch from Eastern Daylight Time to Eastern Standard Time, which limited available daylight following the races. His horses also trained Nov. 5 following regular training hours, but missed eight days of conditioning overall.
