Horse racing in Britain to resume Wednesday after influenza cases

BHA's chief regulatory officer, Brant Dunshea, confirmed that racing could resume but only with strict biosecurity control measures in place.

Horse racing in Britain to resume Wednesday after influenza cases

(Reuters)





The decision to resume racing was unanimously approved by the industry veterinary committee consulted by BHA, the authority said in a statement.

"Clearly, there is some risk associated with returning to racing. This risk has been assessed and, based on the evidence - and ensuring biosecurity measures are in place – the level of risk is viewed as acceptable," Brant said.

Last Thursday, the BHA cancelled all racing for the day after three cases of equine influenza were identified in vaccinated horses, and it later postponed racing in Britain until the middle of this week.

BHA said that as an additional measure, horses that have not been vaccinated in the previous six months will not be allowed to participate in the races.

Four positive tests for equine influenza were returned in horses in Newmarket on Sunday.

The equine influenza outbreak could not have come at a worse time, with the prestigious Cheltenham Festival only a month away. The four-day festival, the fourth most attended sporting event in Britain which attracts over 260,000 visitors, is due to start on March 12.

The event is worth about 100 million pounds to the local Gloucestershire economy.













(Reporting by Gaurika Juneja; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Horse racing in Britain to resume Wednesday after influenza cases | SBS News