Sunland Hopes to Race Feb. 26 Despite EHV-1

The management team at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino has announced a plan to resume live racing Feb. 26 despite the outbreak of equine herpesvirus that has stalled the New Mexico meet since Jan. 22.

"Sunland Park is pleased to announce live racing will return on Friday, February 26, 2016," the track said in a Facebook statement Feb. 13. "More details on protocols for horses entered on race days will be available soon. We thank the livestock board, Department of Agriculture, racing commission, and horsemen for their diligence in helping to expedite containment."

Since the outbreak occurred, 66 horses have tested positive; however, some have been released from the isolation barn. As of Feb. 12 about 40 horses remain isolated. Six horses have died as a result of the disease and the track is still not allowing horses to exit or enter the facility. The track has remained open for training, with horses in non-quarantined barns allowed on the track from 6-9:30 a.m. MST, and horses in quarantined barns permitted to train afterward.

"Sunland has obviously been in a few weeks of virus containment and our main focus was the health of our equine athletes," said Sunland's director of marketing Ethan Linder. "We've gotten to a point where we believe the virus is contained and we can allow a certain number of horses to race.

"We have roughly 1,500 racehorses on property. Of those 1,500, only 40 are in isolation. We had one bad test yesterday. We've gotten to a point where it's not rampant through the barns and why are we holding up 1,460 horses and the entire racing economy of New Mexico because we have 40 isolated?

"We told everybody today, 'You have 14 days until what we're estimating would be the start of live racing.' That gives every single person two weeks to clean up everything; disinfect barns, tack, horses, everything. It gives them a solid window of time and we believe we can be upwards of 90% out of quarantine by that time."

Linder said about 40% of the Sunland barn area is under quarantine, and any horses still located in a quarantine barn will not be allowed to race. He said a previous plan to suspend racing for 14 days from the time of each new positive applies only to the barn the positive horse came from.

"If a horse from Barn A1 has a positive test, horses in A1 will not be allowed to run for 14 days following the positive test," Linder explained. "All the other barns that are not under quarantine and have had no positive tests in the last 14 days will be allowed to run. We had one positive test today."

With the track's signature race, the $800,000 Sunland Derby (gr. III) slated for March 20, Sunland officials hope to have the virus purged from the grounds in time to run the 3-year-old prep and to allow shippers in to compete.

"I know there's a discussion about when gates would open both to allow people out and in," Linder said. "Right now the first thing we're trying to do is get the horses on the grounds back running. If we can do that successfully without further spread of the virus, the next step would be letting people out and in. Obviously there's going to be a protocol in place. We're waiting to see how this week goes with regards to positive tests."

Linder said horsemen will be provided with a protocol as live racing resumes. A condition book is expected in the coming days.

"We'll tell them how to get their horses racing once the condition books comes out," he said. "Their horses will be tested in morning and evening. If there is any high-temp sheet within the seven-day nomination period, that horse will be scratched. We're going to try to give them every opportunity to put healthy horses in these races."