Hunter chases cancelled as BHA seeks to shield the sport from equine flu - though participants criticise 'snap decision'

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British racing has thrown up a firewall between itself and the risk of the spreading equine influenza outbreak shutting down the sport by cancelling hunter chases from Wednesday onwards.

The cancellation will impact Stratford’s prestigious hunter chase evening on May 29, which marks the final major raceday of the point-to-point season, but some participants expressed frustration at what one called a "snap decision" by the BHA.

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The governing body is seeking to protect the sport from cross-contamination between horses from licensed yards, where animals are required to have vaccinations, and unlicensed stables and other equine facilities. As such, as well as cancelling hunter chases, the BHA has suspended other equine activities at tracks with only horses from licensed premises allowed on racecourses as part of heightened biosecurity measures.

The restriction of access to horses from outside of licensed yards could potentially impact the royal procession at Royal Ascot next month. However, the BHA said it was “working with Ascot to replicate the biosecurity measures of a licensed premises to enable the royal procession to go ahead without any increased risk”.

The measures come into effect from Wednesday, which means the hunter chase which closes Huntingdon's card on Tuesday will be the last for some time. No timeframe has been given by the BHA on how long the measures will be in place, but it said in a statement on Monday that "we will continue to work with the racecourses that were due to hold hunter chase contests to discuss other options for potentially replacing the lost races".

Despite those efforts, the BHA was labelled as being "100 per cent wrong" in its actions by trainer Joe O'Shea, who had been preparing the likes of Cheltenham and Aintree festival winner Barton Snow for Stratford a week on Friday.

He said: “If they’re going to ban it, ban it properly. If you cancel it, cancel everything. If there’s an outbreak, there’s an outbreak.

Joe O'Shea: Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer described the decision as being "100 per cent wrong"

“We’d been building towards those finals all season. We couldn’t wait for it and then all of a sudden it’s gone. It’s such an important meeting. One owner has already booked time off work and rearranged his holiday to go to Stratford. Now I’ve got to tell him it’s off.” 

Stratford chief executive Ilona Barnett said it was unlikely the fixture would be rescheduled due to its proximity to the end of the point-to-point season. She added: "It’s incredibly disappointing for all the participants. They lost Cheltenham and to lose this as well really is a blow. 

"It’s a real shame, but we totally respect the BHA’s decision as they want to try and prevent equine flu further impacting the racing industry."

James Given, BHA director of equine regulation, safety and welfare, said it was "essential that we take all necessary steps to protect the thoroughbred herd" and that independent expert advice stated that "preventing the mixing of racehorses with horses and ponies from premises that are not licensed by the BHA" where vaccination history was not as well known would be the best course of action.

Equine flu cases have been rising in Britain this spring with a further 14 cases reported up to May 16 by the Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance body in Cambridge. The illness is highly contagious and spread by airborne discharge or via human cross-contamination.

Plumpton: was forced to cancel its fixture earlier this month after a nearby equine flu outbreakCredit: Getty Images

A case at a yard adjacent to Plumpton racecourse caused a fixture to be cancelled this month, while in 2019 no racing racing took place for six days due to an outbreak of equine flu in racing yards.

Charlie Poste, chairman of the Point-to-Point Owners' and Riders' Association, said the timing of the outbreak would not impact the season too much, but was disappointed Stratford would not take place next week.

He said: "I’m sure there’ll be a lot of disappointed people within our side of the sport who feel it’s a bit of a snap decision. In the wider scheme of things it is difficult to understand the rationale, but I suppose the BHA is trying to do all it can to control the increased number of equine flu outbreaks.

“If there’s any consolation, it’s coming towards the end of our season and at least if we can carry on with pointing and see the season through then that will be something.”

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