3 weeks later, Sunland Park Racetrack still trying to contain spread of virus

It’s been exactly three weeks since Sunland Park Racetrack and three nearby training facilities were put under quarantine for the equine herpes virus.

“It’s definitely new for all of us,” said Rick Baugh.

Despite growing up around horses this is the first experience with EHV-1 for the Sunland Park Racetrack General Manager. “There’s probably 12 or 13 different tracks where this has occurred at. We were fortunate for many years that we didn’t get it.”

But that changed on January 21st with the first positive test.

A command center was quickly set up to track the barns and horses with positive tests. “It’s a dormant virus that’s in the horses system. You never know when it’s going to come to the surface. The industry doesn’t know what triggers this virus,” said Baugh.

Racing experts do know EHV-1 preys on a horse’s respiratory and neurological systems.

Katie Goetz is the spokeswoman for the New Mexico Livestock Board, the law enforcement agency that deals with health issues in New Mexico livestock, including horses. “They (horses) are curious creatures and they nuzzle on everything they come into contact with, humans included, and so the primary mode of transportation would be nasal contact. Nose to nose contact between horses.”

All the horses have their temperature taken morning and night. Those with a fever are immediately tested.

A positive test means the horse’s barn is put under quarantine and the horse is sent to the isolation barn where it will remain until the virus runs its course.

Of the 1,633 horses on the property six have been euthanized from severe neurological problems and a total of 62 have tested positive, or fewer than 4%.

Goetz said, “The virus itself is behaving as viruses do. Which is to say after the quarantine was imposed of course we are going to see more positive cases there were sorta beneath the surface prior to that quarantine, prior to that first confirmation.”

Goetz told ABC-7 she is confident Sunland Park Racetrack is doing all it can to stop the spread of the disease. “Their interest is the same as ours to return these animals to good health.”

To do that the focus has turned from horses to humans. “Humans are not subject to this virus. It’s restricted to horses, but humans can give a free lift,” said Goetz.

Baugh added, “you may have an exercise rider working in this barn and then go over to A-4 and work in that barn. If that exercise rider did not take the bio-hazard measures and he walked off and had already rubbed on the horse and he touches another horse then they are hot. That’s how easy it is to transmit.”

“We have so many protocols in place now it’s basically up to the trainers. They have to keep the protocols in place. They have to sterilize their equipment,” said Baugh.

The virus itself is easy to kill. Lysol or a bleach and water solution will kill the virus and the recent run on warmer temps should also help.

Worst case scenario, if the virus continues to spread, all of the horses, not just those in the isolation barn, will no longer be allowed to train. They are race horses and want to run, so days or weeks confined to a barn is not ideal and can create new problems for the horses.