Disease contained at Saratoga Raceway; harness racing to resume

PHOTOGRAPHER: Tatiana Zarnowski

Harness racing at Saratoga will resume Wednesday after being suspended because of an outbreak of a contagious bacterial infection in several horses.

The state Racing and Wagering Board and the Department of Agriculture and Markets Thursday cleared Saratoga Raceway for reopening. The outbreak of strangles, a respiratory illness that is usually not fatal but is easily spread among horses, closed the track March 23 when officials found four horses tested positive for the disease.

Three days later, that number grew to 14 horses and then stabilized as owners isolated the infected horses and vaccinated others.

The backstretch will reopen Monday and horsemen will have to prove their racers are healthy before they’re allowed in, with a health certificate, a strangles test taken after March 1 that shows a negative result or proof of vaccination this year.

“Thanks to quick action on the part of Saratoga Raceway officials, private veterinarians, horse owners, trainers and others, the strangles outbreak prompting the raceway’s recent closure is under control,” Dr. David C. Smith, director of the Division of Animal Industry at the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, said in a statement. “Heightened biosecurity measures are currently in place to protect horse health on the raceway, and will remain in place as racing resumes.”

To make up for the 10 canceled racing dates, the harness track will add race cards every Thursday night from May 17 through Sept. 6. Post time will be 7:05 p.m. for each of those days.