When will horse racing resume?
 

Well, that the latest on the ABC news. It's been closed in other countries for that amount of time due to this flu. An initial [first time] outbreak is the worst as our horses have developed no resistance to it.

No spring carnival ? No Melbourne cup? Greyhounds anyone?

if this is true then the tab will have to introduce nightly racing from england/france/etc and weekly racing from America.

lol, im going on my first trip down to melbourne next weekend and was pumped about going to memsie stakes day at caulfield. looks like ill be sitting at a poker table in crown for the day instead.

5 Months!?!
 

It's only been one day, and I'm already getting the shakes from withdrawal...I'm gonna have to go down to the pub and see if I can get a bet on which of 2 flies fly off the wall first or something...lol.

We have an electronic horse racing machine at our local. I couldn't get on because of the long queue. No pokies here either!

There is going to be a real shake-out re owners and trainers if this ban lasts. On the up, the wife will be able to stock up on cheap soap and clag!

Out in NSW for a while...
 

but would be shocked if the nationwide ban lasts the week.

Can't see it being anything like 5 months.

Other than political reasons I can't see any reason for WA and TAS not to be racing. You could count the number of horses moving from the affected areas into those states on less than one finger. SA probably too.

Reckon they'll race in VIC next weekend. Hope so anyway :o

I won't be shocked if they don't race next week however it'll shock me if it lasts to much longer than that as it doesn't seem to have created alot of problems thus far which is a good thing they got onto this as early as they have.

They've posted an initial 72 hour ban of any equine movement. All greyhound authorities have been contacted to add day meetings to their current schedule to meet demand. I can see the ban lasting until next week's end but further than that i believe racing will go ahead. i doubt all the testing and observations to be done can be done in a 72 hour period and as someone said earlier due to inexposure before it will pose more of a threat.

Latest news is that up to 80 horses have the flu now. I won't be holding my breath for an early lifting of the ban, but hopefully we'll get some of the Spring Carnival [?]

From the Melb. Age Sunday:

A veterinarian confirmed 200 horses at Sydney's Centennial Park stables had flu symptoms. There were also reports last night that horses in Tamworth had contracted the non-fatal virus. It is understood a handful of them have travelled to country meetings in recent days.

The first case of equine influenza was detected in a prize stallion at the Eastern Creek quarantine station west of Sydney on Thursday last week. It is understood the virus has spread to four other stallions at the quarantine site, with another 47 stallions and racehorses at Eastern Creek under extreme risk of contracting the virus.

Twenty-seven horses at Victoria's Spotswood quarantine site are being tested after several came into contact with horses that ended up at Eastern Creek.

Lasseters Sports bet managing director Gerard Daffy said he had "information from an industry insider" that on Monday the Federal Government would announce a 28-day shutdown across the country.

"So how can you get a cups horse fit in that time? I'm told the spring carnival will be pushed a month (back) to December," Mr Daffy said.

Leading Victorian trainer David Hayes said a rethink for the spring racing carnival would have to be considered if the ban were to be extended.

"I'd imagine one of the options with a national truce made between the states and no racing for a month, you would have to put the race dates back six weeks," Mr Hayes said.

Whats the big deal anyway, so what if you miss a few meetings, theres more to life than betting on horses 24-7

Very sad indeed
just for my own curiosity I thought I wonder what all the desperate punters will do for a bet
well with Darwin being the only meeting in the gallops i thought i'd compare the win pools for the last two weeks
Win Pool 18/8/07 (5 races)=$39,115
Win Pool Yesterday(5 races)=$240,575
About a 600% increase
Then i thought how many of us would get on the dishlickers
Wentworth park 18/8/07=$120,240
Wentworth Park 25/8/07=$184,305
about 53% increase

I'm sure pokies,keno,sportsbet,chook raffles were also up :D

Scary about Darwin though isn't it :eek:

some of us make our living out of this industry, if all this is true, i'm forced to take a 4 week unpaid leave.

my fingers are crossed that all this is an over-reaction. just because a horse has 'flu symptoms' doesnt mean it has EI, it could be any number of cold & flu viruses. just have to wait for the test results, which take about a week.

74.000 workers in Victoria alone make there living directly or indirectly from the racing industry.

Goldmember.

I agree .There is always NZ races and the greyhounds might make a bit of a comeback.

Failing all that there is MR CASHMAN on the pokies.

HAYCHEE. Where are you at my desperate hour of need.

Cheers.
darky.

It's quite obvious that Goldmember or darkydog2002 don't derive their income from horse racing.

They are obviously not selling tips or systems then are they?????

why on the racing retro show and tvn this morning were they talking melbourne would be running saturdays races this wednesday and then the memsie stakes day will be going ahead on saturday?

Don't know what that has to do with what I posted, I never insinuated they did????????

Aw, don't get up-tight, just joking, I suppose I was saying well, they are the only ones making a living from horse racing (system/tips/comp programme sellers etc) of course not to mention all the workers employed directly and indirectly etc etc.

Well the virus has already hit QLD now, so that's the East coast races hung out to dry.

It gives me the shivers to think of what would be happening if this was the bird-flu turned into a human strain. Our supermarkets would be empty within 24 hrs for starters and all deliveries would stop quick smart, not that anyone would be turning up to stock the shelves or man the cash registers.

At least there is plenty of cattle and fish around here in this rural hideaway:-))

Hey Peter P.

Any good bettor can make a good living from any racing code in my opinion.
Horse racing is not the ONLY option.
Cheers.
darky.

With no racing in Australia, there are a couple of options.

South Africa racing in the evening/night
UK racing in the night/early morning

or

US racing in the morning.

If you're not a night owl, there is some excellent racing in the mornings in America. Couple that with live tote odds and streaming video, and it's a great spectacle. There's also heaps of good formguides.

You just have to be aware of the prices before taking any prices on betfair, there's some tremendous value to be had, but also some very poor value early.

I bet on Saratoga and Woodbine this morning and did quite well ;)

Tomorrow morning Del Mar kicks off at 7am and finishes at around 10.30am
You can also catch the last half of Saratoga, Mountaineer Park and Bay Meadows...even Woodbine.

There's heaps of racing still going on!

Darkydog2002,

Sorry 'bout that I didn't realise what a genius you are.
I suppose your "LOTTO" system you use on the horses of backing up to six horses in a race and still not getting results would probably work on the dogs as there is only 8 runners, but I doubt you would show a profit.

Chrome Prince,

Thanks for the info but I work in a very narrow area in horse racing and need bookie odds to do it.
It has been good for me for a few years now so will stick to it.
I need a break anyhow but will definately miss the dollars, as I am not a big bettor and like the majority have a mortgage and a family to feed.

Hi ya Pete ( buddy ,pal,mate)
And here I thought ya was making $10,000 a month.
Ya should have thousands tucked away whereby you,d never need ta work again.

darky.

I have officially seen it all.

went to the TAB on Saturday arvo to place a bet on the AFL, I expected it to be a ghost town with no racing on-to my surprise the local was still quite busy. I would estimate 50-75% of the usual crowd they get there on a saturday afternoon and guess what all the betting was on? Trackside.

They had trackside (computer horses) Playing on the big screen with the line to place a bet on this quite long-at one stage if you wanted a bet you wouldn't be able to get on for 2 races some were saying.

Latest news is that some owners are breaking the ban and transporting their horses across state lines.
Its this madness that will wreck the industry.

darky.

That's hilarious, next they'll be yelling at the jockeys for poor rides and the trainers for the outsider of the two stable horses getting up.

What's the betting that the NZ races will have bumper pools if they don't race here on Saturday.

The TAB should be printing out formguides as we speak, if they know what's good for them ;)

Yes thank heavens for the Pom's. Betfair balance still ticking over.

Scored three nice lays at Darwin on Saturday. Looked like pretty genuine racing.

Wonder if we'll see a blip in the birthrate in 9 months similar to what happens when there's a power outage ;)

Equine Influenza

Equine influenza is a major virus disease that causes flu like symptoms in horses and is from the group of viruses that causes flu in humans. This is a major viral disease present throughout Europe, North America and parts of Asia.

What is the incubation time?
Most horses exposed to the virus will show signs within a period of 1-5 days.

What are the signs of influenza?
Equine influenza appears similar to a range of other viral respiratory diseases. Viruses that are responsible for coughs and colds in Australia include Equine Herpesvirus, Equine Rhinovirus and Equine Adenovirus. Most of these viruses produce rather mild signs which include a discharge from the nose and coughing. Equine Influenza produces more severe symptoms with horses developing a fever and a dry hacking cough. Horses become ill and are reluctant to eat or drink for several days but usually recover in 2 to 3 weeks.

How is influenza virus spread?
The virus can be spread easily from horse to horse as a result of droplets and also from nasal discharge and from things like infected brushes and rugs. The disease is very contagious and there is almost 100% infection rate in a population that has been previously unexposed to the virus.

Can it be prevented and treated?
Because it is a virus, there are no drugs that influence the outcome of the disease. However many horses develop secondary infections with bacteria which can lead to pneumonia and other problems. Good nursing care and if necessary, antibiotics to deal with bacterial illness associated with the disease are important parts of treatment. The most important part of dealing with this illness is effective vaccination. Reasonably effective vaccines are now available featuring the two most important types of this virus but horses need to be vaccinated 2-3 times per year to ensure their immune status.

The most likely way that this disease could be introduced into Australia is through an imported horse and horse owners should be aware of this potential if there are any horses introduced onto farms or into stables. The most likely signs will be the rapid spread of a severe respiratory flu like disease which is more severe than the usual virus problems.

Make's you wonder what else get's out of the various Quarantine Centres :eek:

well thats the best news we have had since this has broken out, with the tests coming back negative at randwick.

caulfield sounds positive for saturday, heres hoping...

Track work resumed this morning at Vic Metro tracks.....

Please note the thread header "No horse racing for 5 months!" has been changed as the header at this stage appears to be inaccurate with racing looking likely to resume at Caulfield this Saturday.

Moderator.

But that 5 months claim was ALWAYS going to be inaccurate. It was a ridiculous suggestion.

SA, VIC and probably WA going ahead as usual on Saturday. TAS racing on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Night meeting at Moonee Valley on Saturday too.