Mountaineer Abruptly Ceases Racing Amid Health Concerns

Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort on Saturday unexpectedly announced the suspension of live racing through Nov. 7. While officials at the West Virginia track did not state a reason for the sudden closure, a Hancock County Health Department (HCHD) official confirmed to TDN that her office received a number of health-related phone calls on Monday from racino employees that could potentially link health problems to alleged sanitary issues at Mountaineer.

Daily Racing Form, which first broke the story, reported that the outbreak could be Legionnaire's disease, “according to officials with knowledge of the situation.”

Legionnaires' disease is a severe, often lethal, form of pneumonia caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila. It is not spread by people, but generally through contact with contaminated water sources or by inhaling infected vapors or mists. Large public buildings like hotels are frequently sources of outbreaks, and whirlpools, spas, and hot tubs can also harbor the bacterium.

“We're in the process of working through questions and answers that we're receiving. It's an open investigation at this point,” said Jackie Huff, the HCHD administrator.

When asked specifically if the HCHD's investigation involves Legionnaires' disease, Huff said, “It involves a lot of things. We have employees calling stating that, but we haven't confirmed that. We just found out [Monday], so we're kind of in the initial question-and-answer stages with people.”

TDN's attempts to learn more from Mountaineer officials, the West Virginia Racing Commission, and the Mountaineer branch of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association all resulted in unreturned email and voicemail messages requesting comment prior to deadline for this story.

Huff emphasized that the racetrack's closure was not mandated by the county, and that even in her official capacity, she has had difficulty reaching Mountaineer officials via phone.

“From [Mountaineer's] executive office that I called I wasn't really able to speak with anybody. But it was stated to me that they were doing a cleaning and safety review,” Huff said.

Mountaineer's Twitter feed posted this message Oct. 27: “While working on some improvements at our racetrack, we are temporarily suspending live racing from Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018 – Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018. Our casino, hotel, and restaurants will not be affected during this temporary closure. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Morning training at Mountaineer has not been halted.

The HCHD website lists the results of some inspections at the Mountaineer property, and the most recent check of the jockeys' room facilities lists three “non-critical” violations that were observed by an inspector on Oct. 16. They are:

1) “Men's Steam Room: ceiling vent cover missing; lightshield dirty & taped to ceiling; missing wall tiles; walls moldy; wooden seats splitting & splintered.”

2) “Men's Locker Room: Mold on ceilings of some showers; 1 broken ceiling tile.”

3) “Men's Sauna: Baseboard fell off wall.”

A follow-up HCHD visit, also on Oct. 16, reported this added note: “Hot tub: No chlorine at time of first visit. Returned at noon to check. Hot tub re-opened.”

Huff, when asked if the HCHD's just-started investigation could focus more closely on those violations, said, “I didn't do the actual inspections, but yes, that would be looked at too” [as a potential source of any disease].

Herbie Rivera, a regional manager who represents Mountaineer riders on behalf of The Jockeys' Guild, told TDN that earlier this year he had lodged a complaint with track management regarding the condition of the jockeys' room facilities.

“A couple months ago we were having trouble with the hot box and the sauna. I went in there, and I was concerned with cleaning issues and some kind of mold building up in there. It was nasty,” Rivera said. “I'm not an expert, but you can tell that is was dirty and that it was not maintained with the consistency that it is supposed to be. We brought it to management's attention and we complained about it. They said they were going to take care of it.”

But Rivera said the issue lingered, and it was only last week that he finally received a follow-up email to his complaints. He said the gist of the message was that track officials had been held up waiting on permission for funding to fix the problems.

“So we were dealing with that, and then these other issues [came up over the weekend],” Rivera said. “I only know as much as anybody else with what came out [about the closure on social media]. I got a text saying it was something with vents in the jocks' room, but I'm not sure. Right now I don't know of any riders who are sick, but I told our guys there to make sure that they check themselves and if they feel bad to go see a doctor.”