EHV-1 Restrictions Hamper Keeneland Sale

Although Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots is some 650 miles south of Lexington, an outbreak of equine herpesvirus at the New Orleans facility is having an effect on the Keeneland horses of all ages sale that begins Jan. 9.

After five horses stabled at Fair Grounds tested positive for EHV-1, the Office of the Kentucky State Veterinarian imposed an embargo on any horses that have been at a Louisiana track or training facility since Dec. 10 from shipping to any track or training facility in Kentucky.

While the directive does not preclude the transport of horses from tracks in the Bayou state to Kentucky farms, it prevents any horses from Louisiana tracks and training centers from shipping to the Keeneland sale and has resulted in the withdrawal of some of the top racing and broodmare prospects cataloged in the five-day auction. Immediately after the Kentucky embargo was put in place, Keeneland sales officials notified consignors of the restrictions.

Included among the horses impacted by the restrictions are Uchenna, a grade 3 winner in Canada; Cinnamon Spice, a Candy Ride   mare who has won or placed in six of nine starts; Savings Account, a stakes-winning, grade I-placed daughter of Medaglia d'Oro   consigned as Hip 121 by Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency; and Queen Jolene, a daughter of Bernardini   from the family of champion Stevie Wonderboy who was consigned as Hip 94 by Woodford Thoroughbreds.

Consigned as Hip 287 on behalf of Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farm, Cinnamon Spice was one of two horses from the Taylor Made Sales Agency group withdrawn due to the EHV-1 restrictions.

"She was arguably our nicest horse in Book 1," Mark Taylor said of the 6-year-old half sister to grade I winner Violence  , who is from the extended female family of champion Sky Beauty. "But everybody's got to be cautious, and I think they're doing the right thing, because you can't play around with a situation like this or it can get out of control fast. I think everybody's doing what they have to do and we'll just adjust. We're just going to have to be patient."

Although Taylor Made's veterinarian believes both horses that had been at Fair Grounds are outside the incubation window, Taylor said both horses are quarantined from other horses at the farm.

"I don't presume there will be any problem, but you've just got to be careful," he said, adding that the Keeneland withdrawals are available for sale and will be entered in another sale.

It is unknown exactly how many Keeneland sale entries were affected by the EHV-1 embargo, but Meg Levy said as many as six or seven horses from her Bluewater Sales consignment, including Uchenna, were among the group.

"It was super bad timing," Levy said of the timing of Uchenna being shipped to Kentucky just prior to the EHV-1 positives at Fair Grounds, where the mare was in training. "She was one of our top horses."

Levy said the mare is isolated from the rest of the horse population and that Keeneland officials have offered to assist in letting potential buyers know the mare can be inspected at Bluewater.

While disappointed, Levy said she understood the need to not take any chances with an infectious disease like EHV-1.

An Irish-bred daughter of Fastnet Rock, 6-year-old Uchenna is one of two stakes winners produced from the German stakes-winning mare Uriah. After beginning her career in England, the mare relocated to Canada, where she annexed the grade 3 Ontario Matron and Belle Mahone Stakes.