The content on this webpage contains paid/affiliate links. When you click on any of our affiliate link, we/I may get a small compensation at no cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure for more info -----------------------
Last updated on July 16th, 2017 at 12:43 pm
The Birdsville Races, to be held this weekend, are now cancelled for the first time in 125 years. More on the horse flu debacle here and here.
I couldn’t give a fat rats ring gear about bird flu (what’ve those guano dropping mongrels ever done for me), but this horse flu outbreak is freaking serious. Nothing says spring to me better than footy finals and losing a motsa at the track. The worrisome part is that horses won’t touch chicken noodle soup, so there is no cure.
If you will not shed a tear for me and my fellow punt drunks, at least spare a thought for the devastated eastern suburbs girls who have not been allowed to receive ponies for their birthdays.
A trailer of carbon credits to anyone who can link it to Glorbal Warmening.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 08 28 at 04:29 AM • permalink
#1 – A town is established in Australia by the following:
1. Erection of pub
2. Racecourse
3. ChurchThat takes care of the the three major religions. The rest takes care of itself.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 08 28 at 04:32 AM • permalink
2. HK is hosting Olympic equestrian events over the next year.
Why is this important? If you own shares, once a ‘flu’ epedemic of any kind starts again in HK it will spook the markets big time.
Let’s get a little perspective here. This isn’t a killer flu or anything, it just makes the horses get sick for a couple of weeks. The way people are carrying on you’d think it was some sort of equine black plague.
Posted by daddy dave on 2007 08 28 at 06:06 AM • permalink
Bloody NSW centric paer the Tele.
A bunch of your infect southern horses went up to Warwick last weekend for a couple of days’ Olympic trials. Turned out a couple had equine flu and it is now spreading like wild fire through the lot of them. So there are currently 250 horses, and 200 owners quarantined out of reach of the nearest pub. QDPI has a few vets organised for them, and have paid for a few truck loads of hay, but the inmates a starting to get stroppy (and wiffy – the shower facilities are limited). Looks like the quarantine will last a month.
The Premier and Primary Industries Minister went up to placate them this afternoon. I am sure the southerners will be unfamiliar enough with “I’m Sorry” Pete’s toothy grin that they will forgive him.
- #9 it’s a big deal because:
1. it’s the start of the spring racing carnival, when trainers and bookies and tracks and tab make most of their money
2. it’s nearly breeding season. Breeders won’t be able to move their horses around. Breeding season is when Breeders make most of their money
3. it’s Olympic trials time, when Australia gets to select who goes to Beijing. Australia usually does pretty well at the Olympics in horses.
4. Any horse that gets sick will only be sick for a couple of weeks, but out of condition for several months
5. it’s highly contagious, and until now not present in this country, so the domestic horses have no immunity whatsoever.On the bright side, Mrs Entropy has a little more petty cash this spring.
- I know this disease. We used to have it in Texas. My grandfather was a quarter horse breeder and trainer, so I grew up witnessing the debilitating effects of this illness known as horse racing. We finally found the antidote though. You folks in Oz could do well to try it yourself.
It’s called NASCAR.
Seeing as this is the first time in recorded history we’ve had an outbreak of this disease, it’s very big news.
We’ve got the Spring Racing Carnival about to start here in Melbournistan, and it looks like last year’s winner and runner up may not come over from Japan to defend their places.
There’s the breach in our strict quarantine laws which allowed the virus into the country, although I’ve heard that horse flu is so contagious it could have come into the country on a saddle cloth.
While that’s hearsay, it is from someone who’s been dealing with horses since the Ark.
Re the Birdsville races… biggest excuse for a pissup ever.
My brother used to fly up there with a bunch of his mates every year and get trashed. I don’t know if he ever actually saw a race, but he had a grand time!
Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 2007 08 28 at 05:21 PM • permalink
Oh, and I wouldn’t worry about running races without horses… that’s been going on for years up Alice way.
Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 2007 08 28 at 05:22 PM • permalink
- A respite for poor nags.
When I become a dictator, one of the first actions will be to ban horse-racing, this idiotic, systematic state-sanctioned animal cruelty.Posted by Honkie Hammer on 2007 08 28 at 07:01 PM • permalink
- #9 and 11, it’s also a big deal because:
1. It’s a first for Australia, a disease we’ve never had to deal with before and to which our horses and donkeys have no immunity.2. Because of the delays now in the breeding season, there’ll be fewer foals born next year.Frankly, I think the racing industry has some responsibility in this. For years, it’s been pressing for shorter and shorter quarantine periods for imported horses. Horses brought in for the Melbourne Cup, for example, now spend very little time in quarantine.
You can’t have it both ways.
#22 – I do pray that you left the sarc tags off that comment. Because If you knew how much horses love racing, you wouldn’t be talking that fascist tosh.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 08 28 at 08:16 PM • permalink
The good news is that desperate punters can still lose their cash.I had a look at Sky Racing on Foxtel yesterday afternoon to see what they were screening to make up for the absence of the hay burners and was pleased to discover that they were covering greyhound racing from some obscure track in a place called New Zealand and best of all my local TAB was happy to allow me to get set.I expect that if the flu persists or even spreads the TAB will be happy to arrange for punters to blow their wages on events beamed in from all over the planet.
- #24, no sarcasm at all.
Do horses love being whipped? And being disposed of if they break a leg?Posted by Honkie Hammer on 2007 08 28 at 09:56 PM • permalink
#27 – Quite a few celebrate race victories at The Hellfire Club with Madame Lash. Not many like been shot, but who does.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 08 28 at 10:40 PM • permalink
#26 – I’ll be going to the cock fights and bear baiting until the gallops resume.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 08 28 at 10:50 PM • permalink
I am not ashamed to say that I too have reservations about this so called “industry”.
When my teeth get stuck in a leathery piece of Picula ad Caval, I know that I have been once again dudded with un-spelled thoroughbred.
Posted by Margos Maid on 2007 08 29 at 03:01 AM • permalink
#31 – Yes, the best cuts are grain fed and lightly raced.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 08 29 at 03:55 AM • permalink
Holy shit, I just did Google map search for Birdsville. Exactly who in the hell lives out there? And how does a town this small even support a race meeting?