A group of horses located in Barn 66 at Saratoga Race Course have been put under a 14-day quarantine by the New York Racing Association and the New York State Gaming Commission due to a positive case of strangles.
Tenacious Child (McKinzie), an unraced 2-year-old filly trained by George Weaver and stabled in Barn 66, was tested for a number of potential ailments over the weekend, and a positive test for strangles was returned Wednesday night.
In addition to Barn 66, horses under the care of Weaver stabled in Barns 60 and 63 will be monitored for symptoms as part of a precautionary quarantine protocol that will remain in place through Saturday, as directed by the New York State Department of Agriculture.
The standard infectious disease protocols implemented by NYRA and NYSGC include restricting access to the horses in the affected barns, 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 Barns 60, 63 and 66.
Horses in those three barns will not be permitted to enter races or train among the general horse population at this time. NYRA is actively working to relocate quarantined horses to an alternate facility where they will have access to isolated training hours.
Beyond the quarantine protocols currently in place, NYRA has enacted no additional restrictions over shipping horses in and out of Saratoga.
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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