Report: New Mexico Stewards Summarily Suspend Heath Taylor After 21 Horse Deaths From EIA
Stewards at the Downs at Albuquerque racetrack in New Mexico have summarily suspended Quarter Horse trainer Heath Taylor, whose stable has had a reported 21 deaths in recent weeks due to Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), according to Daily Racing Form.
The California Horse Racing Board confirmed 12 of Taylor's horses stabled at Los Alamitos have been euthanized, and Daily Racing Form said eight have died at Lone Star Park in Texas, and one in New Mexico. Taylor indicated to the Form's Steve Andersen that all of the horses had been stabled in Albuquerque in August and early September.
The reported action taken Friday by stewards at Albuquerque said if a licensee's actions "constitute an immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare, the Stewards may summarily suspend the licensee pending a hearing." A hearing reportedly is scheduled for Oct. 23.
Taylor texted Andersen, stating: "I maintain 110 percent innocence. I am the one at loss and now penalized."
Equine Infectious Anemia is a bloodborne disease that can be transmitted via bites from contaminated deer- and horseflies; from pregnant mares to their foals in utero or via milk; via breeding, from stallions to mares; through the use of infected blood and blood products; or through contaminated equipment like needles.
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A horse with EIA can be asymptomatic, or it can have a fever or die suddenly. Horses that are chronically infected with EIA can be weak or anemic, lose weight, or have swelling in the legs, abdomen, or chest.
A Coggins test can confirm whether a horse is positive for EIA. There is no known treatment and infected horses pose a risk to all other horses. Horses that are positive for EIA can either be placed in lifetime quarantine or euthanized.
There is no vaccine for EIA, so prevention relies on quality fly control and sterile equipment for injections and treatments.
The Equine Disease Communications Center website published a notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the EIA deaths, stating: "Additional exposed horses have been identified and are in the process of being tested in multiple states. The current epidemiological investigation indicates that spread of EIA among these horses occurred by iatrogenic transmission."
Iatrogenic transmission refers to the "unintentional spread of disease or problems through medical treatment or diagnostic procedures," according to pubmed.gov.
Taylor, one of Quarter Horse racing's leading trainers, is fourth nationally in both wins and money won in 2024, according to Equibase. He has horses entered over the next several days at Los Alamitos, Lone Star Park, and Evangeline Downs. Those horses are expected to be scratched as a result of the New Mexico summary suspension.
