Suspended for today as a minimum, but this isn't good at all unfortunately as it's the rarer strain which is usually found in North America as opposed to Europe. It has the potential to knock racing out of action completely for many weeks.

https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/ ... eak/365309" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I heard a representative from the racing community on the radio this morning discussing this. I was alarmed to hear him say...

"If the outbreak spreads it will be very damaging to racing..."

My first thought was about the horses, and their suffering - I know it's not exactly life threatening for the horses but still... Ah well.

Same thing happened in Australia last year or the year before. Think the racing was suspended for close on a month

Cheltenham round the corner too

Mass panic in Blackburn with it being so near valentines day and all that entails.

DomBFC1882 wrote:Cheltenham round the corner too

canal turn!

Do male horses suffer from it more?

https://www.itv.com/racing/bha-concerne ... ted-horses" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rick_Muller wrote:I heard a representative from the racing community on the radio this morning discussing this. I was alarmed to hear him say...

"If the outbreak spreads it will be very damaging to racing..."

My first thought was about the horses, and their suffering - I know it's not exactly life threatening for the horses but still... Ah well.

85,000 jobs in racing, and three horses are sneezing. Which takes priority? When a football match is cancelled because of a flu epidemic or tummy bug at one of the clubs, my first thought is with me missing a match, not with the suffering of the players.

TheFamilyCat wrote:Do male horses suffer from it more?

.....
no but they complain more

Issue is that this illness spreads quickly, and is very dangerous to mares in pregnancy and foals. It’s peak breeding season for horses, so the movement of these animals will be severely limited. The Australia crisis was 2007 from memory and lasted 4 months. They don’t vaccinate routinely against flu in horses, but Uk, Ireland and France do. Problem is that this strain is infecting even vaccinated horses. Not fun.

dsr wrote:85,000 jobs in racing, and three horses are sneezing. Which takes priority? When a football match is cancelled because of a flu epidemic or tummy bug at one of the clubs, my first thought is with me missing a match, not with the suffering of the players.

I hold my hand up, I hadn't consider that dsr. Still my initial reaction was that he didn't seem to care too much for the horses.

Don't worry fellow punters, the suspension won't be furlong.

Suspension extended until at least next Wednesday

https://www.racingtv.com/news/equine-fl ... -next-week" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's not to be sneezed at....

I've just seen the symptoms on SSN: I think I've got it.

Are you "hoarse"......

Vino blanco wrote:I've just seen the symptoms on SSN: I think I've got it.

Get to the doctors, You don't want to be saddled with that over the weekend!

The horses will be fine after they've had a nap

The first murmurings on the news at 10 from the BHA that The Cheltenham Festival could possibly be affected

Lemsips all round then

http://www.horsedeathwatch.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

THEWELLERNUT70 wrote:The first murmurings on the news at 10 from the BHA that The Cheltenham Festival could possibly be affected

It was the first thing that I thought this morning.

It will cost the racing world and those who benefit from it millions of pounds if Cheltenham is abandoned.

But let's hope they can sort the problem out asap and stop it spreading but I suspect it may be too late.

MACCA wrote:Get to the doctors, You don't want to be saddled with that over the weekend!

Aye that would be a bit of a mare

Bin Ont Turf wrote:Lemsips all round then

http://www.horsedeathwatch.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow. I didn’t expect that many so often. I’m generally shocked by that.

Record attendances at dog tracks?

Who cares?

Owen Coyle spotted coughing and spluttering.

as posted on cheltenham thread
Bookies have priced up the possible extent of the equine flu outbreak on UK meetings.

In light of the news that there was evidence of an equine influenza outbreak late on Wednesday night, four UK meetings were cancelled on Thursday with more set to follow in the coming days.

Now the question lies with when horse racing is likely to return in the UK, amidst uncertainty surrounding the severity of the outbreak at this stage.

Bookies have ‘Before 18th February’ priced as their most likely outcome at 1/5. This implies an 83.3% chance racing returns within the next two weeks. However, some high-profile races this coming weekend are likely to be affected, including the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury.

In the event that the outbreak is severe, the possibility of UK racing being cancelled until 1st March or after is priced at 5/1.

This instance would see the highlights of the season, Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National, possibly affected. Bookies see this as unlikely at this stage, implying a 16.7% chance of that outcome.

Oddschecker spokesperson George Elek: "Although the influenza outbreak could have severe effects across the UK and Ireland, fears that Cheltenham could be under threat may be slightly allayed with the short prices on offer."

"The immediate concerns will be around the welfare of scores of UK-based horses, but with major meetings already under threat this weekend, trainers and owners will hope the precautionary actions have been effective."

Four new cases of equine flu reported this evening at Simon Crisford's yard in Newmarket, so not looking good for an immediate resumption of racing.

Not sure if Crisford has had any recent runners at any of our all-weather flat tracks, but he certainly has at the recent Dubai carnival.

Big problem for Rovers.

racing resumes tomorrow ( wednesday )