Hold Lifted at Bowie Horse Training Facility

The Maryland Department of Agriculture confirmed Tuesday that a horse euthanized at the Bowie Training Center on Saturday on suspicion of having Equine Herpesvirus tested negative for the disease, according to several news reports. 

The hold placed on Barn 16 of the horse training facility—located on Race Track Road in Bowie—was lifted Tuesday as a result of the negative EHV blood test.

The Maryland Jockey Club placed the hold on the Barn, which stables 27 horses trained by Annette Eubanks, Bobby Lee Plummer and Patrick Magill, when one animal began showing symptoms of the illness and was subsequently euthanized, reported NBC Washington. Animals in Barn 16 were not allowed to leave the building until blood from the euthanized horse was tested and confirmed negative for EHV by the Maryland Department of Agriculture. 

The previously quarantined horses were cleared to resume training on Wednesday, according to The Washington Post.

EHV is a disease that can spread to horses by the air or contaminated equipment, clothing and hands, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which said it can cause respiratory and neurological disease in horses as well as abortion in mares.

Local Editor Elizabeth Janney contributed to this report.