By The Horse Staff
The Kentucky State Veterinarian's office has lifted a restriction that kept horses from Indiana's Hoosier Park from entering the barn areas of any Kentucky racetrack or public training facility.
The Kentucky precautions were put in place after 59 horses at Hoosier Park were quarantined as a precaution after equine strangles, a bacterial disease common in horses that can be life-threatening and contagious, was suspected in one Thoroughbred stabled at the Anderson, Ind., facility. Two other febrile horses were removed to a secondary quarantine facility, and one animal under quarantine died of colitis.
The quarantine was lifted earlier this month.
"This decision is based in part on information that there has been no evidence of additional cases developing at the track in recent weeks, the single affected barn’s population has been offsite for greater than 14 days, and the affected barn has been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected as directed by the Indiana Board of Animal Health," said Rusty Ford, equine programs manager in the office of Kentucky State Veterinarian Robert Stout, DVM, in a statement.
While the statewide restriction was rescinded Oct. 26, Hoosier Park horsemen relocating to Kentucky tracks were encouraged to check with the individual tracks to ensure their horses will not be denied entry onto the backside.
