Purple patch for runners at Randwick in December

THE return of Sydney racing at Randwick on December 1 would be open to all horses ready to compete, a meeting between Racing NSW officials and the state Department of Primary Industries determined yesterday.

Racing NSW chief Peter V'Landys said horses in the department's designated "green zones" which have been free of equine influenza would be allowed into "purple zones", though some restrictions would remain.

"Horses from green zones will be able to come to Sydney which is a purple zone and race as normal," V'Landys said. "But if the horses head back to the green zone after racing they will then have to be segregated from other horses for two weeks before they can be in contact again."

V'Landys said horses moved to Sydney from green zones could continue racing without any restrictions provided they stayed in the purple zone while the amber zone surrounding Kembla Grange would be treated as a purple zone as a test case to see if the vaccines were working.

"The DPI is treating the thoroughbred industry as an experiment to see that the vaccines are in fact working which in turn will allow over time the free movement of all horses in NSW," he said. "We would envisage that as of January 31 there will once again be a free movement policy of horses allowed in NSW."

V'Landys said it was thought there was little risk of EI spreading further "because all our horses have been vaccinated twice".

"The horses that have caught EI will be blood-tested at the expense of Racing NSW to ensure they have sufficient antibodies against the virus," he said. "These developments are an important step in the right direction to ensure this multibillion-dollar industry is back working again."

There will be barrier trials at Kembla Grange tomorrow and then at Randwick on Friday while Saturday's Wyong meeting has attracted 178 nominations.

The David Payne-trained Guillotine, a half-brother to Melbourne Cup winner Efficient, will be one of the 63 horses to trial at Randwick with Payne and Gai Waterhouse providing the bulk of the runners.

Neville Voigt (two), Pat Webster and Bruce Wallace (one each) will be the only other trainers to have runners at the session.

Meanwhile, the inquiry into the EI outbreak in Australia, first detected at Sydney's Eastern Creek quarantine station on August 23, begins today with retired High Court judge Ian Callinan heading proceedings.

Several witnesses, including three from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, are expected to be called including Julie Sims, who is responsible for activities at Eastern Creek.

John Schell www.smh.com.au
November 13, 2007