Delaware Park has canceled its Fourth of July Thursday card due to a lack of entries as virtually all of the tracks in the region have place shipping restrictions on the Stanton, Del., track after a horse stabled there tested positive for the strangles bacteria.

The horse, which as of Sunday had not displayed any signs of illness, is in isolation well removed from the stable area.

The New York Racing Association, The Maryland Jockey Club, Monmouth Park, Parx Racing, Charles Town, and Penn National are all refusing entries from horses stabled at Delaware Park and have informed horsemen that any horse shipping to Delaware Park will not be allowed to return afterwards.

The restrictions come at a poor time for Delaware Park, which has it two biggest days of the year planned for July 6 and July 13. Five stakes are scheduled for July 6, including the Grade 3, $300,000 Delaware Oaks; Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial; and the Grade 3 Kent Stakes.

On July 13, the Grade 2, $750,000 Delaware Handicap tops a five-stakes card. The other four stakes are part of the MATCH Series.

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Strangles is an upper respiratory bacterial infection that is often accompanied by an elevated temperature and nasal discharge. The bacteria typically infect the upper airway and lymph nodes of a horse’s head and neck.