Canterbury to act as quarantine centre

RACING NSW has been granted approval to use Canterbury Racecourse as a quarantine centre for horses from outside the purple zone in and around Sydney.

Under current NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) regulations, horses travelling from other zones to race in the purple zone must serve a quarantine period before they are permitted to return home.
The Canterbury facility will accommodate up to five horses travelling from amber and green zones after they race at Randwick.
The Randwick meeting is the first metropolitan program in more than three months following the equine influenza (EI) outbreak in late August.
Canterbury is the only one of the four metropolitan racetracks that is not used as a training centre.
”The Sydney Turf Club constructed a quarantine station here some years ago in the hope they could attract international horses, so it's already set up and ready to be used,'' said steward Steve Railton.

”There is room here for several dozen horses but there's only likely to be four or five horses here from the Randwick races.
”They will stay at Canterbury for seven days before returning to their zones for another seven days at a stable or property approved by the Department of Primary Industries.''
Sydney and the provincial centres to the north such as Gosford, Wyong and Newcastle are in the purple zone and horses from those areas will be able to compete at Randwick and return home without completing a 14-day quarantine period.
Kembla Grange to the south is officially located in an amber zone but Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys said horses from the provincial track would be free to make a same-day return trip to Sydney following negotiations with the DPI.
”We have negotiated to have Kembla classed as a purple zone so horses will be able to come from there,'' V'Landys said.
AAP