Entries Strong for Sunland Park's Return
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Photo: Coady Photography
It appears that life at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino is returning to normal as the New Mexico track is prepared to race Feb. 26 for the first time in more than a month as an outbreak of equine herpesvirus appears to have abated.
The track has not conducted live racing since Jan. 22 as a result of the EHV-1 outbreak for which 72 horses in New Mexico and two in Texas tested positive and six horses were euthanized. Though biosecurity measures were implemented, including quarantining any barns housing positive horses, the virus still spread.
Subsequently, horses and barns have been released from isolation and as of Feb. 23 no new EHV-1 positives had been reported for the previous six days. The track on the border with Texas said as racing resumes, only 5% of barns remain under quarantine restrictions.
No horses will be allowed to ship on or off the property until the New Mexico Livestock Board lifts the quarantine, the track said in a release, and all horsemen are urged to rigorously maintain strict bio-security protocols. All horses entered will be inspected prior to racing and random inspections will be performed.
Following the loss of racing opportunities, horsemen were obviously eager to get their horses entered when the track drew entries for Feb. 26-28 and March 1 for a condition book that includes 11 stakes and $1.3 million in purses over the four days.
With 91 trainers entering horses for the four days, the race cards consisting primarily of Thoroughbred races and some for Quarter Horses have average fields in excess of nine horse per race.
The track received permission from the New Mexico Racing Commission to run its usual Friday-Sunday and Tuesday schedule with nine races daily and a post time of 1:30 p.m. MST.
Sunland Park's marquee races, the grade III Sunland Derby and Sunland Park Oaks, are tentatively scheduled to run March 20. Nominations for both races are being taken by the racing office with no supplemental fees.
Racetrack officials said they will continue to monitor the health of the horses on the grounds and communicate any changes should they become necessary.