SportHorse racingThe DerbyEvery non-thoroughbred horse within a 1 mile radius of the track has been injected and travellers have agreed not to bring any horses or ponies to the Downs this year14:37, 03 Jun 2026A mass vaccination exercise has been completed around Epsom racecourse to protect the Betfred Derby meeting from equine flu.‌Last month a race meeting at Plumpton had to be called off due to a confirmed case of highly contagious equine influenza and EHV-4 in a non-thoroughbred horse at a livery yard adjacent to the track.‌The BHA subsequently took further measures by announcing the abandonment of all hunter chase races and activities involving other equines on racecourses as a precautionary measure which came into effect from May 20. Access to racecourse property on raceday has since been restricted only to horses from licensed training yards.‌The BHA said the restrictions would remain in place until the levels of equine influenza in the British horse population had fallen and there was no heightened risk to the thoroughbred racing herd.As Epsom Racecourse is situated in a public area with the Derby meeting also historically attracting members of the travelling community who set up camp in a designated area adjacent to the racecourse, applying the restrictions during racing has provided an additional challenge.‌Racecourse general manager Jim Allen told Mirror Racing: “We have been in constant communication with the BHA and, as Epsom is an open site used regularly by about 100 non-thoroughbreds a day across the Downs, we wanted to make sure we were on the front foot.“We spoke to the BHA and we decided to vaccinate all non-licensed thoroughbreds within a mile of the racetrack to make sure that we were covered. The BHA approved the project and within two days we vaccinated every non-thoroughbred within a mile of the racecourse.”The Jockey Club also spoke to the travelling community who agreed not to bring any horses or ponies to the site this year.‌Allen said a total of 56 horses have been vaccinated with the costs picked up by the Jockey Club.He added: “As soon as the news spread that equine flu was gathering, we contacted the BHA early to ask what we could do to protect the Derby because we wanted it to go ahead in its regular slot.Article continues below“They said we could vaccinate horses close to the racetrack and once we did that they were happy. We just wanted to make sure we protected the Derby.”Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌British Horseracing AuthorityJockey Club Inc.The DerbyFluFitnessHorsesEpsom Downs Racecourse