Recently, the British Horseracing Authority lifted the ban on horses that participated at Ayr where Donald McCain’s Raise A Spark ran before testing positive for equine influenza. And while racing has been resumed on Wednesday, 22 trainers are still unable to have runners with just a few weeks before the Cheltenham Horse Racing Festival. This is due to the new and stricter biosecurity measures introduced by the BHA.
Captain Redbeard, one of the two declared runners for the 25,000 Malcolm Jefferson Memorial Chase, could’ve been forced out of the race. This is because his trainer Stuart Coltherd was one of those who had been barred as he had horses at Ayr. That would have caused a walkover for Cheltenham Gold Cup race outsider and Brian Ellison-trained Definitly Red.
While the disruption in racing should ease soon, there are just 41 confirmed runners at Kelso and 28 at Leicester as of the moment. Also, Grace Harris-trained Field Exhibition was barred from running at Market Rasen this Sunday. This is because at that time, he falls foul of the BHA’s new biosecurity measures that require runners to be vaccinated within the last six months.
The Director of Equine Health and Welfare for the BHA, David Sykes then stated that the Animal Health Trust and BHA’s teams are working day and night to examine tests and clear horses to run.
This Cheltenham 2019 racing news first appeared on https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/racing/article-6701975/BHA-end-lockdown-equine-flu-disruption-continues-22-trainers-unable-runners.html. Check out this link for further details.
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