Pimlico confident Preakness will be held
BALTIMORE – The home of the Preakness is eerily quiet this week, the result of a quarantine that has raised questions whether troubled Pimlico Race Course can regroup in time to host the middle jewel of the Triple Crown.
An outbreak of equine herpesvirus at the 136-year-old track forced three horses to be euthanized and led several states to ban the shipment of horses into or from Maryland. Although a horse was linked to the virus Tuesday at nearby Laurel Park, there have been no new cases at Pimlico since Jan. 19 and the track intends to lift the self-imposed quarantine next Wednesday.
But can Pimlico ultimately replace the cautionary yellow tape currently surrounding several barns with the bright yellow Black-eyed Susans that symbolize the Preakness?
“I have no concern about that whatsoever,” Lou Raffetto, chief operating officer of the Maryland Jockey Club, said Tuesday. “Given the nature of this virus, I don’t think this will be an issue by the time we start in April.”
The virus, known as EHV-1, often produces respiratory problems and fever, and it can cause pregnant mares to abort their fetuses. The most severe version attacks the nervous system and can lead to paralysis.
Fortunately for Pimlico, equine herpesvirus usually runs its course in a month to six weeks, according to Dr. George Allen of The University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center.
“It would be unlikely that what’s going on now at Pimlico would extend into the spring racing season,” said Allen, who has made a career out of researching the disease.
Trainer Bob Baffert, who has saddled four winners in the Preakness, expects Pimlico to have a clean bill of health well before the 131st running of the race on May 20.
Asked if he would be concerned about bringing a horse to Baltimore for the Preakness, Baffert replied, “No, not at all. Once the weather warms up I don’t think this is going to be a problem. I think a lot of these horses are susceptible because of the cold, damp weather. Their immune systems are down.”
Allen agreed.
“He’s right in that it’s a seasonal thing,” Allen said. “The unusual thing about this disease is that until the year 2000, it was extremely rare. But since then it’s really skyrocketed.”
Churchill Downs experienced an outbreak of equine virus soon after hosting the Kentucky Derby last May. Pimlico is fortunate in that it is closed for racing while Maryland’s winter meet is held at Laurel Park, and the Preakness is still 3 1/2 months away.
“It could be a lot worse,” Raffetto said. “It could have happened two months from now. Then where would we be? We are not talking about opening Pimlico until April 20. We’re certain that by then this will be long behind us, and we don’t expect any residual effect.”
Eight horses remain isolated, suffering from various levels of the virus, but it appears evident that the disease is under control.
“It’s all a matter of letting Mother Nature do her work,” said Guy Hohenhaus, state veterinarian for the Maryland Department of Agriculture.