In January 2006, an equine herpesvirus outbreak that started at Pimlico Race Course and spread to Laurel Park, a farm in Kent County and the Fair Hill Training Center resulted in six horses being euthanized and 19 others becoming ill. The outbreak started Jan. 2, 2006, and the all-clear was sounded about two months later in early March.
During that two-month period, Pimlico was closed for training for 18 days, from Jan. 21 through Feb. 7, and three days of live racing were canceled at Laurel Park. Horses were prohibited from traveling from Maryland to other states.
"Today's news is disappointing but we have already put the proper precautions into place to control the situation," Hale said in a statement. "We learned a great deal from 2006 and now know to shut things down immediately if there is a possible case so as to reduce the possibility of it spreading. The one advantage to having this happen in Barn 1 is that it is already isolated from much of the backside."
