McCAIN’S PAIN OVER SIX-DAY SHUTDOWN
THE trainer at the centre of the equine flu outbreak spoke out yesterday as the sport went into lockdown.
Racing was called off until Wednesday at the earliest after three horses at Donald McCain’s yard tested positive for the disease – despite being vaccinated.
It led to thousands of racehorses at more than 100 racing yards across the country being swabbed for equine flu yesterday.
The crisis arrived like a bolt from the blue late on Wednesday with yesterday’s four meetings being called off.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced yesterday afternoon that there would be a shutdown until next Wednesday.
The outbreak has also sparked fears about the Cheltenham Festival, which is due to start on March 12, but there is no suggestion that it will have to be cancelled.
But for racing fans there will be echoes of the foot-and-mouth crises of 1967 and 2001. On each occasion, the racing calendar was affected for two months and in 2001 the Cheltenham Festival was abandoned.
While the infected horses had not been racing this week, McCain had runners at Wolverhampton, Ayr and Ludlow. As a result, any trainer who ran a horse at those meetings has had restrictions placed on their movement.
No further positive tests were recorded, but another three days are needed before it will be possible to make a decision on whether it is safe to resume racing as the disease can take that long to show its symptoms.
McCain said the origin of the infection was unclear but he was keen to emphasise he would never knowingly have run a potentially infected horse.
He said: “I have been aware of the recent news about equine flu outbreaks in France and Ireland, and over the last couple of days, I have been concerned about the health status of a small number of horses in the yard.
“Their welfare is at the front of our minds, so at my request, our veterinary surgeon has examined them regularly and we have followed his advice on testing and treatment.
“It was by following this protocol that the positive results for equine flu came to light. The BHA were contacted immediately.”
McCain, whose yard is in Cheshire, added: “We are scrupulous about observing the health status of horses in our care and taking the necessary steps to treat any condition that may affect them.
“It follows we would never race any horses that we could have known were infected.”
Equine influenza, sometimes referred to as
equine flu or horse flu, is a highly contagious respiratory infection. An infected horse will show clinical signs similar to those of human flu and will be infectious for about a week.
Tens of thousands of horses can be affected by one outbreak. Although rarely fatal, it can have a huge impact on competition and breeding due to restriction of horse movements.
All racecourses that have had a McCain runner over the last three days have been asked to carry out a “deep clean” of their premises.
Outbreaks are rare but one such incident in Australia in 2007 brought racing to a halt nationwide on August 25 and, while the Melbourne spring carnival took place under strict biosecurity measures, racing in Sydney did not resume until December 1.