The quarantine at Lone Star Park in Texas was a false alarm.
The quarantine of horses trained by Bret Calhoun, Kevin Favre, and Brian House at Lone Star that was ordered June 4 by the Texas Animal Health Commission was lifted early June 5 after an error was found in the reporting of the original laboratory results that indicated two horses stabled at the track, and a third that recently shipped out to New Mexico, had tested positive for equine piroplasmosis.
Lone Star Park received notification from the Texas Racing Commission that the quarantine was lifted and horses in the affected barns were allowed to interact with the other horses at the track.
“I was informed by the Texas Racing Commission (early June 5) that the quarantine on the three affected trainers had been lifted,” Lone Star president and general manager Drew Shubeck said in a statement. “Apparently there had been an error made at the lab, and the original tests were actually negative.
“It is unfortunate that several horses had to be scratched from racing at Lone Star Park (June 4) that resulted in economic losses for the racetrack, horsemen, and jockeys, but we’re relieved it has been corrected. Since we opened our barn area for this meet, we have had procedures in place to make sure that no horses with equine piroplasmosis or ticks are being allowed into the backstretch at Lone Star Park, and we will continue those throughout the rest of the meet.”
The Lone Star meet continues through July 18, with racing on a Thursday-through Sunday schedule.