Horse racing-Thursday races in Britain cancelled over equine flu

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has cancelled all racing on Thursday after three cases of equine influenza were identified in vaccinated horses from an active yard. Horses from the infected yard competed at Ayr and Ludlow on Wednesday, potentially exposing others from yards across the country and in Ireland, the BHA said in a statement.

Thursday's fixtures at Huntingdon, Doncaster, Ffos Las and Chelmsford City have been cancelled. "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," the BHA said on their website https://www.britishhorseracing.com/press_releases/racing-thursday-7-february-cancelled-due-equine-influenza-cases.

"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 said it was working with the Animal Health Trust and would inform potentially exposed yards to ensure quarantine and biosecurity measures, with a further update expected later on Thursday. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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