Horse racing: today’s UK meetings cancelled because of equine flu outbreak

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has cancelled all race meetings across the United Kingdom today because of an outbreak of equine influenza.

Four meetings - Huntingdon, Doncaster, Ffos Las and Chelmsford - had been planned to take place today but according to BBC Sport the decision to cancel has been made after “three vaccinated horses in an active yard tested positive for the disease”.

The Racing Post reports that trainer Donald McCain has confirmed his Cheshire stable was the source of the outbreak. McCain said in a statement: “We have three confirmed cases and this morning have taken blood and swabs from all the others for testing.”

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Horses from the infected yard raced yesterday at Ayr and Ludlow and the BHA says this has “potentially exposed a significant number of horses from yards across the country and in Ireland”.

In a statement the BHA said: “The fact that the cases have been identified in vaccinated horses presents a cause for significant concern over welfare and the potential spread of the disease and the action to cancel racing has been viewed as necessary in order to restrict, as far as possible, the risk of further spread of the disease.

“The BHA has worked quickly to identify which yards could have potentially been exposed and identify the further actions required. The BHA is presently communicating with yards potentially exposed to ensure appropriate quarantine and biosecurity measures are put in place and horse movements restricted to avoid possible further spread of the disease.

“The full extent of potential exposure is unknown and we are working quickly to understand as much as we can to assist our decision making.

“The BHA is working closely with the Animal Health Trust. We recommend that any trainer who has concerns about the health status of any of their horses should contact their veterinarian.”

Wolverhampton has called off its meeting on Saturday but no decision has yet been made on Friday and Saturday’s fixtures at Newcastle and Southwell.

Racing will continue in Ireland, says the BBC, but runners from Britain are not permitted until further notice.

What is equine flu?

The BHA website states: “Equine influenza is a highly infectious disease of horses, mules and donkeys occurring globally caused by strains of influenza A virus.

“It is the most potentially damaging of the respiratory viruses that occur in UK equines and disease symptoms in non–immune animals include high fever, coughing and nasal discharge.

“Equine influenza can be highly contagious and – unlike other infectious diseases – can be airborne over reasonable distances as well as be transmitted indirectly, including via people. There are no known consequences for humans associated with exposure to the disease.”