Belmont Barn Under Quarantine Due To Strangles Positive

[Wandering Eyes]

Barn 28 on the Belmont Park backstretch has been placed under a precautionary 14-day quarantine by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) until further notice due to a positive case of strangles in the barn. NYRA, the New York State Department of Agriculture and the NYSCG remain in contact should the need arise for further precautionary measures.

Barn 28 houses horses trained by George Weaver, Todd Pletcher and Rudy Rodrigruez and the quarantine is effective immediately. The Weaver-conditioned 2-year-old gelding Mo Curls was referred to the Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center on Friday, where he was tested for a number of potential ailments, and a positive strangles result was returned on Saturday afternoon. The horse began immediate treatment at the Medical Center.

Following confirmation of a positive strangles test, 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 28.

During the initial period of quarantine, these horses stabled in Barn 28 will be restricted from entering races and from training with the general horse population.

Afebrile/asymptomatic horses stabled in Barn 28 will have isolated training hours on the Belmont Park dirt training track following the close of training for the general horse population at 10:30 a.m. As of Saturday afternoon, no additional febrile horses have been identified.

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.

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