Thoroughbred racing: Can horses contract COVID-19?

As COVID-19 continues to spread, disrupting daily life around the globe, you might be wondering whether the coronavirus can be transmitted to horses.

While many sporting events have been cancelled, horse racing has continued in major racing nations like the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong. To help control the spread of COVID-19 among humans, a handful of U.S. tracks have suspended racing, but otherwise the impact on equines has been negligible. Will this remain the case?

Evidence suggests horses won’t fall ill, even in the unlikely event they do contract COVID-19. Though horses can become infected with a different coronavirus — the equine enteric coronavirus (ECoV), which causes gastrointestinal issues — experts believe the spread of COVID-19 from humans to animals isn’t a major concern at this time.

Speaking about domestic pets in general, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) website notes, “Infectious disease experts and multiple international and domestic human and animal health organizations agree there is no evidence at this point to indicate that pets become ill with COVID-19 or that they spread it to other animals, including people.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website has posted a similar statement: “To date, CDC has not received any reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19. At this time there is no evidence that companion animals ... can spread COVID-19.”

There has been one instance of a pet dog in Hong Kong returning a “weak positive” test result for COVID-19, though the dog remains outwardly healthy and additional tests are ongoing to determine the significance of the positive.

In the meantime, the AVMA stated, “out of an abundance of caution, it is recommended that those ill with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus.”

It seems the global population of equine athletes will remain safe from COVID-19, particularly if humans who contract the coronavirus avoid interaction with horses. And that’s a bit of good news, as people around the globe continue their efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.