The Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh yesterday rated the chances of the Cheltenham festival going ahead in 15 days' time at "no more than 50-50."
Walsh was speaking after a new case of the foot and mouth virus was discovered in Britain, bringing the total number to seven and fuelling concerns not just about Cheltenham but about racing in general being banned.
Walsh, a frequent racegoer, stressed: "It is totally a matter for the British authorities about making a decision regarding Cheltenham." However when asked what odds he himself would give about the festival going ahead, the Minister replied: "At the moment I would say it is no more than 50-50."
The new case was found yesterday in Devon and has emphasised how easily foot and mouth can spread. That concerns the top Irish trainer Willie Mullins who is worried how an even wider spread of the virus could impact on racing in Ireland.
"If it comes to racing being stopped in England then I can't see it going ahead here either. Ireland is much more dependant on agriculture and in 1967 we stopped racing here for 12 weeks compared to six weeks in the UK," Mullins, the chairman of the racehorse trainers association, said yesterday.
"We have to be very worried. Devon is so far away from the other areas in Essex and Northumberland but it has managed to spread there. It would have been much better for everyone if it had been contained in the two areas.
"If racing has to be stopped it would probably be for a minimum of six weeks. Realistically that would see Aintree gone as well as Cheltenham. But at the moment we can do nothing except sit and wait," Mullins added.
At the moment there is no immediate threat to racing in the UK or Ireland but speculation on the chances of the Cheltenham festival going ahead continues to rise even though a suspected case of foot and mouth in Gloucestershire has proved negative.
A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture also stressed yesterday the possible cancellation of Cheltenham is a matter for the British authorities but he couldn't rule out a general travel ban to Britain.
"We want to reduce the risk and if that means prevention of travel to the UK, so be it," said the Department spokesman who rubbished a newspaper report that said two more foot and mouth cases in Britain would lead the Government to ban the movement of horses to Britain on Tuesday.
"It's ludicrous to try and put a number on it or a date. We will not be hostages to fortune. If the situation becomes sufficiently serious we reserve the right to take whatever measures we feel are necessary," he said.
The Junior Agriculture Minister Noel Davern, who has a share in the Cheltenham hope Arctic Copper, said the discovery of the new case in Devon is very serious. He added: "It has spread from Northumberland to Devon and that is a long distance. The danger is not the number of cases but the distance."
A Jockey Club meeting at Portman Square in London today will discuss the transportation of horses issue today and will include many elements of the racing and horse industry.
Horses trained in Northern Ireland travelled yesterday to Naas races without apparent problems crossing the border. All vehicles entering the Naas and Fairyhouse racetracks over the weekend travelled over disinfected straw and customers had to walk over it.
