Racing industry hope latest flu outbreak is not as bad as 2001 foot-and-mouth virus

The entire racing industry will be praying the latest outbreak of Equine Influenza does not escalate to anything like the disruption caused by the 2001 outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease which devastated the agricultural industry and severely dented racing and tourism.

What started as an outbreak in an Essex abattoir on February 21 saw meetings cancelled across the country with the sport completely suspended for a seven-day period from February 27 when racing in Ireland was halted indefinitely.

Tracks which fell inside exclusion zones created around infected farms were prevented from racing. In two months of disruptions, over 60 meetings were lost and the point-to-point programme brought to a halt.

The racing industry will hope the latest flu outbreak is not as damaging as the 2001 foot-and-mouth epidemic that devastated the agricultural industry and dented both racing and tourism

The most significant loss was Cheltenham Festival. The biggest meeting of the year was postponed on March 7 after it was discovered a flock of sheep had been grazing on land adjacent to the racecourse.

The Festival was re-scheduled to be staged from April 17-19 but was cancelled completely on April 1 when another outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease was confirmed at a farm five miles from Cheltenham.

The Cheltenham cancellation cost the betting industry an estimated £100million. The festival attracts 200,000 spectators, many of them staying in nearby hotels, and the local economy took a hit estimated to be worth £10m.

Four days after the Festival, the Grand National meeting was able to take place on the urban site of Aintree racecourse in Liverpool with Foot and Mouth precautions in place. 

Cheltenham Festival had to be cancelled in 2001 and it cost the betting industry £100million