Nick Williams calls BHA ruling on flu shots 'unfair and illogical'

Nick Williams has launched a scathing attack on the BHA's decision-making in response to the equine flu outbreak, saying yards who have not vaccinated in the last six months have been "unfairly prejudiced".

The trainer has argued against both the introduction of a requirement for all declared runners to have been inoculated against the disease within the last six months, as well as the rescheduling of several high profile races for this weekend.

Williams' wife Jane was due to saddle the well-fancied Monsieur Lecoq in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury last Saturday, but the five-year-old is ineligible to run in the rescheduled event at Ascot on Saturday because of the BHA's stipulation that all runners must have been vaccinated for equine flu within the last six months.

In defence of the BHA’s position, Clive Hamblin, veterinary adviser for the National Trainers Federation, warned it would be folly to ignore expert advice on how to handle the outbreak.

Hamblin said: “In the light of this new influenza outbreak we have two major weapons in our armoury, namely vaccination and biosecurity. There are quite a number of scientific papers supporting the evidence that vaccinating at six month intervals gives superior protection against equine influenza virus and hence the BHA’s approach to resuming racing if the participants have been so protected.

“This was never going to please every owner and trainer, but the advice of world experts would be ignored at our peril.”

The BHA veterinary committee viewed the new rule as crucial to resuming racing on Wednesday but, in a letter to the Racing Post, Williams described the twin measures as "unfair, unjustified and illogical."

The rules of racing make annual vaccinations for equine flu mandatory, but the BHA announced the six month requirement as part of a package of enhanced biosecurity measures when giving the go ahead for racing to resume late on Monday evening.

Williams said: "From the two infected yards, the BHA knows exactly when the horses which tested positive were last vaccinated. This is critical data and should have been published by them. The conclusion we are supposed to reach, I imagine, is that all the horses which returned a positive were last vaccinated more than six months ago. But were they?"

Williams and Lizzie Kelly teamed up for Betfair Hurdle success with Agrapart but the yard's Monsieur Lecoq will be ruled out of this Saturday's race because of the new rules on vaccinationCredit: Mark Cranham

Williams went on to draw parallels with measures being taken in Ireland and France before arguing that the number of tests conducted ought to have allowed the BHA to conclude with reasonable certainty that the outbreak was confined to the yards of Donald McCain and Simon Crisford.

"The sample of horses tested for equine flu amounted to a significant percentage of the horse population," said Williams. "The conclusions to be drawn overwhelmingly supported the view that the infection was confined to just two yards and had not spread. As such the infection could be contained and controlled within the two yards.

"Because the sample tested was so large and no positives were found, it is mathematically possible to conclude with 95 per cent or greater confidence that there were no positives in untested horses, outside the two infected yards."

Both Nick and Jane Williams will be among the trainers who are effectively ruled out of racing for a further eight days after the resumption while their strings recover from being re-vaccinated.

"Yards which vaccinate on an annual basis like mine [on July 1] have been unfairly prejudiced and penalised by the rule change through no fault of their own," said Williams. "In fact many vets would endorse vaccinating in the 'close season,' when horses are at grass."

BHA chief regulatory officer Brant Dunshea admitted on Tuesday that some trainers would be inconvenienced, but said: "In order to ensure an entirely level playing field it would have been necessary to place the entire sport on hold for at least seven more days.

"The measures we are following are intended to minimise the risk of spread of the disease and the subsequent impact this would inevitably have on owners, trainers jockeys and everyone else connected with the affected horses."

The BHA have rescheduled four races from last Saturday's programme at Newbury and Warwick – all trials for the upcoming Cheltenham Festival – to take place this Friday and Saturday.

But the re-staging of the Betfair Hurdle within the period which effectively disqualifies horses that need to be re-vaccinated has also led Williams to question the BHA's approach.

Williams said: "Major races such as the Betfair Hurdle have now been rescheduled to this Saturday at Ascot. Consequently, horses who were originally targeted at these races and have had to be re-vaccinated are no longer eligible to compete.

"Why weren't these races scheduled to take place on or after February 19? [This is] yet another example of a decision which is unfair, unjustified and illogical."

The BHA is due to announce details of extra races designed to cater for horses ruled out of action because of the six month requirement.

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