The Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) has lifted restrictions placed on horses residing in Barn 3 at Woodbine Racetrack, and horses not stabled in Barn 1 are now permitted to leave the property, said ORC Manager of Veterinary Services Adam Chambers, BVMS.

On June 12, the ORC announced that five horses residing in Barn 1 at the Toronto, Ontario, racetrack had tested positive for equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). In a notice to the industry, the ORC reported that one horse was euthanized on June 10 after becoming recumbent with a fever. A second horse in the same barn also had a fever and showed neurologic signs; that horse was transported to the Ontario Veterinary College for evaluation and treatment, the notice said.

Subsequently, the ORC implemented biosecurity protocol that prevented horses residing in Barns 1 and 3 from leaving their barns and any horse from leaving the premises without ORC permission.

"While no horse in Barn 3 had at any time tested positive for EHV-1, the restrictions were initiated as a pony with direct contact with horses in Barn 1 was stabled in Barn 3," Chambers said in a June 19 notice