Meadowlands bans Rockingham horses
July 29, 2008,by John Pawlak, USTA marketing director
Columbus, OH — The Meadowlands has reportedly banned, effective immediately, horses shipping from Rockingham Park, where cases of strangles have recently been diagnosed.
The ban was reported in today’s edition of the Bergen (N.J.) Record.
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission had announced a similar ban on any horse that had been at Rockingham on or after June 1, and two other tracks, Plainridge Racecourse and Pompano Park, have announced similar bans.
Streptococcus equi — the scientific name for the bacterium which causes strangles — is a highly contagious infection that attacks a horse’s respiratory tract and lymph nodes in its head, leading to fever and difficulty breathing. Horses must be quarantined for between four and six weeks while infected.
The disease is rarely fatal — if treated.
- Rockingham horses barred from Pompano (Friday, July 25, 2008)
Due to an outbreak of the disease called Strangles at Rockingham Park, no horses that have raced or have been stabled at Rockingham Park since June 1, 2008 will be allowed on the grounds of the Isle Pompano Park.
- Plainridge restricts Rockingham horses (Saturday, July 26, 2008)
Due to an outbreak of the disease known as Strangles at Rockingham Park, horses that have recently raced or are stabled at Rockingham Park as of June 1, 2008, have not been allowed to race or allowed on the grounds of Plainridge Racecourse for the past two weeks.
- Rockingham shippers banned in Pennsylvania (Monday, July 28, 2008)
Because of an outbreak of the disease known as Strangles at New Hampshire’s Rockingham Park, no horses coming from Rockingham will be allowed at Pennsylvania racetracks until the situation has been resolved.