Officials at the New York Racing Association and New York State Gaming Commission received laboratory confirmation Saturday afternoon, verifying the suspect case of equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM) that led to the quarantine of Barn 10 at Belmont Park late Thursday.
The EHM case was confirmed through both nasal swab and blood testing on a 4-year-old filly who began exhibiting neurologic symptoms Thursday. The filly, trained by Tom Albertrani, was euthanized Friday as her condition deteriorated. A full necropsy is underway at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Following the development Thursday evening, Barn 10, currently housing 20 horses, was put under a 21-day quarantine, overseen by Dr. Anthony Verderosa, Director of NYRA's Veterinary Department, and in consultation with the New York State Gaming Commission.
All horses in Barn 10 will continue to be monitored closely for fever and other signs of illness. At this time, all horses that had been exposed to the affected horse have remained afebrile and asymptomatic.
During the quarantine period, these horses will not be permitted to run or enter races. They will have isolated training hours following the normal closure of the training track at 10 a.m.
NYRA will continue to provide additional updates as necessary.
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