Though cases of strangles at Palm Meadows Training Center in South Florida appear to have been confined, the five positive tests for Streptococcus equi set in motion a chain of events up and down the East Coast.

New York Racing Association tracks, which this time of year typically welcome runners who have wintered in South Florida, said horses previously stabled in South Florida wouldn’t be allowed to ship in until at least April 2. Similarly, Tampa Bay Downs declined entries from Palm Meadows and Calder Race Course near Miami closed its gates to horses from Palm Meadows.

Fearing that other facilities may take similar action, some Palm Meadows-based trainers shipped their runners out of the Boynton Beach, Fla., facility to avoid possible quarantine.

“Because of the situation, we decided why take a chance?” trainer James Bond said after he put 20 horses on a van from Palm Meadows on March 26. “A lot of training centers now won’t accept horses from (Palm Meadows), and it’s very inconvenient for horsemen. With all of the big races around the country this time of year, this would be an especially bad time to be locked down