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Fair races to go on after horse quarantine lifted

Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois State Fair harness races will go on Monday after nearly three dozen horses were quarantined briefly over the weekend because of concerns they may have been exposed to a virus.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports that officials lifted the quarantine Saturday, after the animals were cleared of having the equine herpes virus.

The concern followed reports that a horse began exhibiting symptoms consistent with the virus at Balmoral Park in Crete and had shared quarters with six other horses brought to Springfield.

But a spokesman for the fair, Jeff Squibb, says tests conducted on the sick horse came back negative, making the "heightened biosecurity measures" no longer necessary.

Squibb says there's no threat of the virus to humans.

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