Updated 15.15

ALL RACE MEETINGS in Britain on Thursday have been cancelled following an outbreak of equine flu.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced the move late on Wednesday in a bid to curb any further spread of the infectious disease after three vaccinated horses in an active yard tested positive.

As other horses from the same yard raced at both Ayr and Ludlow on Wednesday, there is a risk that others may have been exposed to the flu. Cards scheduled for Huntingdon, Doncaster, Ffos Las and Chelmsford City on Thursday were cancelled by the BHA.

Irish racing will continue as planned, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) and Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) confirmed, although runners from Britain will not be permitted to race in Ireland until further notice.

Several Irish trainers had runners at Ayr and Ludlow but those horses were isolated before they returned to their yards in order to minimize the risk of the disease spreading. 

The BHA are continuing their investigation and expect to make an announcement later on Thursday regarding the race meetings scheduled to take place later this week.

“We are still in the early stages of assessing the scale and severity of the outbreak,” a statement read.

“We are working quickly to identify the extent of the infection and will have more information when further test results are returned today. The results from those tests will not be known until this evening. Following these results being known a call will be convened to discuss the implications and a decision will then be made as to the impact on racing in the coming days.

“We are aware that people want to know the situation as regards racing tomorrow and this weekend and we will seek to provide more clarity as soon as we are able. It is likely that any definitive decisions on whether racing can take place tomorrow will be taken later this evening.”

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