Equine Flu: Musselburgh cancellation a 'real, real shame' - clerk of course

The loss of Musselburgh's richest ever jumps meeting on Sunday as a result of an equine flu outbreak is "a real, real shame", says the clerk of the course.

Horse racing in Britain will not resume until Wednesday, 13 February at the earliest after three vaccinated horses tested positive for the disease.

The East Lothian fixture featured eight races with £160,000 in prize money.

"It was our big national hunt pre-Cheltenham race day so we're very disappointed," Harriet Graham said.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, she added: "I'm disappointed for the people who were coming to see these wonderful horses and who might not get a chance to see them at Cheltenham or just on TV."

• British racing cancelled for at least five days

All fixtures were called off on Thursday by the British Horseracing Authority and trainer Donald McCain confirmed the horses came from his Cheshire stables.

Horses from the infected yard raced on Wednesday - including at Ayr - potentially exposing a significant number of other runners. Other stables around the UK are in lockdown for testing.

"I had a quick look through and we'd have lost at least 60% of our horses," said Graham.

"It was probably the right thing to do by the BHA and a clean thing to do instead of saying to a whole lot of trainers 'you can't run or move your horses'."

A further update from the BHA is expected on Monday.