Vernon Downs Will Race This Weekend With Special Permission from NYS

Racing will resume this weekend at Vernon Downs on Friday and Saturday, according to Jason M. Settlemoir, Regional Vice President of Racing at Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs.  Racing was cancelled last Saturday following the discovery of an out beak of EHV-1 herpes with at least three horses at the track.  Those horses have been placed on quarantine.

"We are in complete compliance with all directives issued by the NYS Gaming Commission," said Settlemoir.  "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. 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 EHV-1 virus is not transferable to humans.

There will be no racing on Thursdays in May and that schedule will continue until further notice.

According to officials at Vernon, the track is open for simulcasting on the regular schedule as normal, throughout the quarantine period.