An ongoing outbreak of equine herpes at Hawthorne Race Course in suburban Chicago prompted Turfway Park to announce Friday that it will not accept entries from any horse stabled at Hawthorne or that has been on the grounds at any time during the Illinois track’s fall meet that concluded Dec. 30. The decision was made in consultation with Kentucky Department of Agriculture officials.
Equine herpes - A highly contagious horse disease
An ongoing outbreak of equine herpes at Hawthorne Race Course in Chicago prompted Turfway Park to announce Friday that it will not accept entries from any horse stabled at Hawthorne.
“Published reports provide evidence that the equine herpes outbreak affecting horses at Hawthorne Race Course continues to pose a risk of disease introduction,” Bach said in the statement.
The virus, which can be fatal to horses but poses no risk to humans, comes in a variety of strains that attack respiratory and nervous systems.
It can be spread through the air when a horse coughs or sneezes. Common symptoms include a fever and coughing; the virus also can cause horses to become lethargic and lose coordination.
Turfway’s move comes a day after the agriculture department’s state veterinarian Robert Stout and equine programs manager E.S. “Rusty” Ford issued an emergency rule requiring any horse entering Kentucky from Illinois to get a permit.
Additionally, Kentucky racetracks and training centers were ordered not to accept horses that have been at Hawthorne during the fall meet unless the horse is approved by the Kentucky state veterinarian, has completed a quarantine off the grounds and has tested negative for the virus.
Stout found “that horses currently or recently stabled at Hawthorne pose a significant risk of exposure to this highly communicable disease,” according to a department advisory
The notice from Ford said the Kentucky emergency rule was being implemented because an Illinois quarantine is set to be lifted next week despite reports that a horse tested positive as recently as last week.
The Daily Racing Form reported Monday that a Hawthorne-based horse with a fever tested positive for the herpes virus but had not developed the neurological symptoms that are related to the lethal strain of the virus.
Seven horses have died since the Hawthorne outbreak surfaced in October.
Read more about Equine Herpes