Sunland Park readies for big day of racing

but now it seems the worst is over– as horse racing is finally coming back to southern new mexico. abc-7’s luke lyddon is live with details on the big racing weekend. luke? rick– horse racing is back and in a big way. more than a million dollars in purse value for the races this weekend. but even more refreshing to hear.. sunland park says there have been no additional positive ehv-1 tests in more than 2 weeks. “the virus was scary, it wa scary for everybody. of course we had to really step it up to make sure everything was clean.” it was the worst type of news sunland park racetrack could have faced. an outbreak of equine herpesvirus– better known as ehv-1. “we went through a lot of protocols and procedures that are not normally in place. those policies and procedures are in place today.” dozens of horse on the property tested positive– and both trainers and owners did everything they could to stop the spreading of the virus. “we kinda had biohazard stuff set up, lysol foot baths, and it was a lot of work but thank god we pulled thru it and knock on wood we didn’t have any sick horses out of my barn so we came out of it good.” i was a major concern for the track as trainers fly in horses from across the country to compete. but now it seems that worry is long gone as there is just one horse left in the isolation barn. “it was just a lot of man power and stepping up and doing everything we do everyday just 100 times more.” an the key to keeping horses safe is staying one step ahead. “it’s a lot of staying consistent. keep checking your temperatures on your horses the little things we didnt do as much before, we need to do for preventative maintenance here on out and it’s kinda stepped up our game and for the best.” fiesta del sol is free to the public and starts tomorrow from noon till 9pm. and it will wrap up sunday at 8pm. back to you. abc-seven and tex- dot with live traffic