Sunland Park in New Mexico announced that a Thoroughbred mare tested positive for equine herpesvirus and has been euthanized. It was a case of EHV-4. The track released test results on Thursday and has restricted all horses from shipping in and out of Sunland.
Two races at The Curragh in Ireland have been promoted from Group 3 to Group 2 status, and two races in Italy have been downgraded from Group 1 to Group 2 level for 2016, the European Pattern Committee announced on Thursday.
Nik Juarez had his jockey’s license reinstated by the Laurel Park stewards on Thursday, according to Laurel Park officials. But Juarez will not be allowed to resume riding until the Stronach Group reviews the situation.
Laurel Park has canceled racing Saturday and Sunday in anticipation of a winter storm that is expected to drop a foot of snow on the region.
Heza Dasha Fire, the winner of the $600,000 Champion of Champions in December and two derbies earlier in the year, was honored as the 2015 World Champion American Racing Quarter Horse in a ceremony in Oklahoma City on Wednesday evening.
Donald Leifeld, a prominent Nebraska-based owner, died Saturday at Howard County Medical Center in St. Paul, Neb. He was 61.
Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La., has made a host of changes to its 26-race, $2 million stakes schedule for the Thoroughbred meet that opens April 6. The track has discontinued the $300,000 Evangeline Downs Turf Sprint but added seven new stakes races, including four offerings for 3-year-olds. The 84-date meet runs through Aug. 27.
Shirley Lewis Sucher, the co-founder of Echo Valley Horse Farm in Georgetown, Ky. and breeder of Hall of Famers Winning Colors and Chris Evert, died Sunday.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Catch a Glimpse leads the list of finalists for the 41st Sovereign Awards released Wednesday by The Jockey Club of Canada.
Portland Meadows has introduced a jackpot-style carryover wager in an attempt to raise the track’s profile with horseplayers, but the structure of the races has generated concerns about a conflict of interest since all horses in the bet sequence are owned by single person related to the track’s owner.
