For the first time in 23 years, there will be a direct charter flight for horse export between the U.S. and South Africa, potentially opening up new racing and bloodstock opportunities for both countries, the South African publication SA Horseracing reports.
The first charter from Johannesburg to New York City has been confirmed for March 7, marking the first direct flight to the U.S. since the export of a group of horses including multiple South African Group 1 winner and prominent U.S. sire Horse Chestnut over two decades ago.
The export flight has been put together by Gerard Connolly of Connolly and Turner Bloodstock Forwarding (CTB) and Robin Bruss of Northfields Bloodstock, following over a year of negotiations.
“We had to overcome a number of legal and logistical challenges” Connolly told SA Horseracing. “The beauty of the American route is that the USDA work on a PAQ (Post Arrival) Quarantine system, and not the Pre-Export Quarantine (PEQ) required by the EU: therefore, no AHS (African Horse Sickness) Free Zone and no transit quarantine in a third country. It's an overnight direct flight from Johannesburg to New York.”
“Under the agreement negotiated with the U.S. veterinary authorities, the horses will do one week in CTB's Johannesburg facility undertaking some routine tests before flying them directly to the U.S. On arrival, they will quarantine 60 days at the USDA facility before release as permanent imports. There will be exercise facilities for the horses to maintain a level of fitness until release.”
Connolly said this new flight could make it much easier logistically for South African connections to send horses to the Breeders' Cup.
It could also open up bloodstock trade between the two countries. Bruss noted the success that U.S.-based partnership Team Valor International has had importing racehorses between the two countries, and that a flight like this could make it easier for South African connections to buy at U.S. auctions.
Connolly said an initial charter had been planned for last October, with a group South African horses whose sales had been arranged to the U.S. and points elsewhere, but the global shipping and supply chain backups nixed the plan.
The maiden shipment will begin with a minimum load of 15 horses of various breeds and disciplines. Once that flight has been completed and deemed a success, Connolly said a second flight could be opened later in the year, with the hope that consistent full flights will bring down costs and shorten quarantines.
The 60-day quarantine from South Africa that Connolly described was set in place by the USDA in 1958 during the emergence of African Horse Sickness, an endemic disease in Africa that is often fatal if contracted, and has a 10-day incubation period. However, a vaccine has since been developed for AHS, and it can be detected by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, similar to COVID-19.
Bruss said he was hopeful that U.S. and South African authorities could negotiate post-arrival PCR tests upon reaching the U.S., which could slash quarantine times in the future.
Read more at SA Horseracing.
