NZTR stands down New Plymouth horses for 14 days and tightens strangles controls across Central Districts
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) has imposed a minimum 14-day racing and trialling ban on all horses trained or stabled at New Plymouth Raceway as it moves to contain a strangles outbreak.
The new directive, effective October 30, also tightens controls across the Central Districts, requiring twice-daily temperature checks and additional testing and approval for horses travelling to the South Island.
Affected New Plymouth horses will be scratched or withdrawn from races and must undergo PCR testing and receive Racing Integrity Board (RIB) clearance before returning, even after the 14 days have elapsed.
The measures follow NZTR’s closure of the New Plymouth Training Facility on October 29. RIB stewards began contacting the 17 affected trainers that day.
NZTR said it and the RIB recognised the significant disruption the restrictions would cause trainers, owners and their teams.
“At New Plymouth, a large number of horses are housed on site, with connected barns and communal facilities. Every horse housed at or using the facility is therefore considered potentially exposed, and restrictions cannot be limited to individual trainers,” NZTR said.
In the Waikato outbreak, which has run since July, horses at Cambridge and elsewhere were typically based at different properties while using shared training facilities, allowing restrictions to be handled differently.
Across the Central Districts, south of Taupo, trainers must record horses’ temperatures morning and evening and immediately report any resting temperature above 38.5°C to the RIB. Those records must accompany horses to race and trial meetings, including outside the region.
Central Districts horses heading to the South Island require prior written RIB approval and a PCR test from a swab taken within 72 hours before travel. They must test negative before departure or be isolated at their destination while awaiting a negative result, and should remain separate from other horses where practicable for 14 days after arrival.
