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Abiding Star could join Preakness field
- Updated: May 14, 2016
4:33 PM ET
BALTIMORE — The equine herpesvirus quarantine at Parx Racing could end as soon as Tuesday, and if it does, the field for the 141st Preakness next Saturday will grow by one runner.
Trainer Ned Allard and owner-breeder Gil Campbell are making preparations to send Abiding Star, a winner of five straight races, to the Preakness if the quarantine is lifted. Officials of The Stronach Group, which operates Pimlico, are in the process of putting safety protocols into place that will keep Abiding Star and another horse Allard plans to send segregated from the general horse population.
Horses running in the Preakness need to be at Pimlico by noon Eastern on Thursday. Allard said that if the quarantine is lifted, he would ship Abiding Star and Always Sunshine, who could go favored in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint on Preakness Day, from Parx to Pimlico early Thursday morning. Entries for the Preakness Day card will be taken Wednesday.
Sal Sinatra, president of the Maryland Jockey Cub, said Saturday that an isolation area would be created on track property, and a temporary two-stall barn would be built for Allard’s horses. Abiding Star and Always Sunshine would be allowed to train at 5 a.m. Friday and Saturday before the track opens for other horses.
Abiding Star and Always Sunshine never became ill during the Parx quarantine, and both are “doing super,” according to Allard.
“We are going to do everything possible to ensure things are 100 percent safe for all of the horses stabled at Pimlico,” Sinatra said.
Parx has been under an equine herpesvirus quarantine since April 1. Seven horses became sick during the outbreak, which was confined to horses in barns 4 and 30.
Barn 4 was quarantined because a trainer stabled there had claimed a horse from Ron Dandy in Barn 30 just prior to the first horse becoming ill with the virus. That horse eventually did test positive for the virus but was removed from track property weeks ago. Barn 4 was released from quarantine two weeks ago after all of the horses stabled there tested negative for the …
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