Vernon Downs has announced that there will be live racing at Vernon Downs this weekend, by permission of the New York State Gaming Commission.
Vernon will race a full card of 11 races on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11, beginning at 6:45 p.m. each evening. Live racing at Vernon will continue with this schedule until further notice.
The card of live racing scheduled for Thursday, May 9 has been cancelled and there will be no racing on Thursday during the month of May. Racing will be restricted to those horses currently stabled in quarantine at Vernon Downs, excluding the horses in secured quarantine within the stable area.
All horses racing will have their temperature taken prior to entering the paddock. Those horses with a temperature in excess of 101.5 will be denied entry to the paddock and excluded from completion.
EHV-1 is not transferable to humans.
"We are in complete compliance with all directives issued by the NYS Gaming Commission. We appreciate their attention to this serious equine health issue and permitting those horsemen confined to the backstretch to race their horses so they can generate some income", said Jason M. Settlemoir, the regional vice president of Racing for Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs.
"While we remain vigilant in our work to prevent any further spread of the EHV-1 outbreak, we are optimistic that things will return to normal in a few weeks here at Vernon."
The track is open for simulcasting on the regular schedule throughout the quarantine period.
(With files from Vernon Downs)
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