Barn 85 at Saratoga Placed Under Quarantine Due to Strangles Positive

[Wandering Eyes]

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) have placed Barn 85 at Saratoga Race Course under a 14-day precautionary quarantine until further notice due to a positive case of strangles in that barn.

Strangles is a contagious bacterial infection that generally affects a horse's respiratory system and causes symptoms similar to those of strep throat in humans. When properly diagnosed and treated, strangles is not considered a life-threatening infection and horses recover fully.

Barn 85 contains horses trained by Jeremiah Englehart and Jorge Abreu.

The 2-year-old [Tranquil Sea] who is trained by Englehart, was referred to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital on Wednesday, after developing breathing issues. He was subsequently tested for a number of potential ailments, and a positive test for strangles was returned on Friday morning. The colt began treatment immediately at Rood & Riddle, where he remains.

Following official notification of the positive case by the NYS Department of Agriculture on Friday morning, NYRA and the NYSGC implemented standard infectious disease protocols including restricting access to the horses in the quarantined barn, establishing a 24-hour security watch, mandating regular temperature checks for the horses in that barn and enacting biosecurity measures for all individuals requiring access to Barn 85.

Overseen by Dr. Sarah Hinchliffe, the director of NYRA's veterinary department, in consultation with the NYSGC, the Barn 85 quarantine is effective immediately.

Abreu has horses in both Barn 85 and Barn 86, and only the horses in Barn 85 are quarantined. The Abreu horses located in Barn 86 can train and race with the general population.

During the initial quarantine period, these horses will not be permitted to enter races or train among the general horse population. Afebrile/asymptomatic horses stabled in Barn 85 will have isolated training hours at the Oklahoma Training Track following the close of training for the general horse population at 10 a.m.

As of Friday morning, three additional febrile horses have been identified in Barn 85. These horses will be removed from the property to undergo further evaluation.

In an email follow-up, vice president of communications Patrick McKenna stated that other than the impacted barn, NYRA had not instituted any additional restrictions on shipping horses into, or out of, Saratoga Race Course.

NYRA will provide updates as appropriate.

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