Millions at stake

2003-12-10 21:47

Cape Town - With the confirmation of the outbreak of equine flu in the Western Cape comes the news that racing could be seriously affected in that region for an indefinite period.

In an interview on Tellytrack, the TV channel that broadcasts racing in South Africa, Tony Barnes, CEO of the Jockey Club of Southern Africa, confirmed that racing would not take place in Cape Town until further notice.

Milnerton Training Centre, where most of the infected horses are stabled, has been placed under quarantine. At the other Cape training centre in Philippi no cases have been reported as yet.

Horses in the Port Elizabeth area, stabled at Arlington Racing complex, are displaying symptoms similar to those of confirmed cases in the Cape, but tests to confirm the diagnosis have not been completed.

At this stage, racing will continue at Fairview racecourse but, in an effort to contain the spread of the virus, no horses stabled at Arlington would be allowed to take part until the tests have been completed.

In Gauteng, racing will continue despite the fact that horses that had raced in the Western Cape at the weekend had returned to their stables at Randjiesfontein.

Barnes said these horses had been placed in isolation and would be carefully monitored for any signs of equine flu.

Racing in KwaZulu-Natal had not been affected and will continue as scheduled.

Barnes said it was suspected the virus's return to South Africa was possibly due to the importation of an infected animal, as the last cases of equine influenza had been reported more than 15 years ago.

It has now come to light that the compulsory inoculation against the virus had been lifted about 2½ years ago.

While many breeders and trainers continue to inoculate, many had seen no reason to do so after it had become non-compulsory.

- SAPA