NEWS &VIEWS You Can Use
Herpes in Maryland On January 18, the Maryland Department of
Agriculture issued a press release stating that a Baltimore County horse had been euthanized at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center on January 16 after testing positive for Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1). T e horse was originally transported to the facility for an un- related medical issue but began to show neuro- logical symptoms on January 14. According to MDA, the Baltimore County farm of origin is under a 21-day investigational hold, and strict biosecurity measures are in place while MDA inspectors perform addi- tional epidemiological and infectious disease testing. Barring any new cases at the farm, the quarantine should be lifted the second week of February. A few days after the Baltimore County horse was euthanized, a horse at Laurel Park tested positive for EHV-1. On January 20, the Maryland Jockey Club released a statement that some restrictions on shipping in-and- out of Laurel Park had been put in place and that Barn 20 was placed under quarantine by MDA as of January 19. A horse, English Tu- dor, trained by Anthony Aguirre, was tested because of a recent visit to the New Bolton
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Center where he was gelded. Once tested, he was removed from Laurel Park and a second test was conducted on January 23. At the time, English Tudor did not show any signs of neu- rologic complications. According to the Maryland T oroughbred Horsemen’s Association, the quarantine re- sulted in multiple scratches on the January 20 program, which included two stakes with ship- pers from Belmont Park, Parx, Penn National and the Fair Hill Training Center. In addition, the MJC canceled the fi rst race when most of the fi eld scratched. A barn at Belmont Park (NY) was placed under quarantine on January 10 after a horse trained there tested postitive for EHV-1 and tested posi- tive again on January 19. As of press time, the Belmont barn was still under quarantine. Meanwhile, in Virginia, a horse in Albemarle County that had been a patient at New Bolton tested positive on January 18. T e VA horse had a fever but did not show any other clinical signs. T e farm was placed under quarantine as well and owners stated that no horses had been in or out of the farm since the aff ected horse returned from New Bolton. T e Maryland Jockey Club announced on
January 23 that the quarantine on Barn 20 was lifted after the second test on English Tudor came back negative for EHV-1. At that time, all restrictions had been lifted allowing horses in that barn to train and race. In addition, the self-imposed quarantine
at New Bolton was also lifted on January 23. New Bolton has contacted owners of all hors- es that were housed at the facility at the same time as the fi rst horse that had tested positive.
Stronach Group Pledges Support to Jockey’s Guild
On December 27, the Stronach Group an- nounced that it will continue its long-term support of the Jockey’s Guild and its member jockeys. Stronach owns and operates racetracks throughout the country, including Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course here in Maryland. Under the terms of the new agreement,
This Facebook post by Equiery follower Holly Bank VanCourt of Urban Ridge Farm in Owings Mills sums up our thoughts on the month of January.
which took eff ect on January 1, each of the six Stronach Group race tracks will continue to make payments to the Jockey’s Guild to help subsidize health, life, and accident insurances. In addition, these funds help with short-term and long-term disability benefi ts for jockeys who are members of the Guild.
Operation Chip T e Unwanted Horse Coalition (UHC) has
started a new initiative for 2018 called Op- eration Chip. UHC director Ashley Furst said that initially, organizations that host Operation Gelding clinics will also be eligible to apply for microchips. “T e industry as a whole is mov- ing towards microchipping as the preferred method of identifi cation,” said Furst. She add- ed that eventually UHC would like to extend the program to rescue organizations as a way to allow them to be able to track horses that have gone through their care and reunite horses with owners after natural disasters. UHC has partnered with MicrochipID
Equine to provide microchips for the program. T e chips provided come with a chip syringe as well as a pre-paid registration card. Veteri- narians providing the gelding services will be responsible for inserting the chips. “T e cost of scanners can be prohibitive for rescues, so as a result, the UHC will also be providing eligible 501 (c) (3) rescues with an opportunity to apply for a deeply discounted scanner,” Furst added. T e whole Operation Chip program is made possible thanks to the generosity of T e Right Horse Initiative.
Flat Track Handle Up for 2017
On January 6, the Maryland Jockey Club an- nounced that the total handle for races held at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in 2017 exceeded $600 million for the fi rst time since 2008. T e total handle for the year was $627.3 million in compared to $560.1 million in 2016. T e average handle also increased to $3.3 mil- lion, which is up from $3.091 million in 2016. T e in-state handle increased from $408.6 mil- lion in 2016 to $442.1 million in 2017. Mary- land’s three big racing days, Black-Eyed Susan, Preakness and Maryland Million, all saw in- creases in handles as well. For 2018, MJC is working towards opening
an off -track betting facility at the Greenmount Station restaurant in Hampstead, which would be the fi fth OTB facility MJC has opened over the past several years. “We’re happy to continue seeing increases in handle while making our product more available and accessible to the public through our growing OTB Network,” said MJC president and general manager Sal Sinatra.
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