Wolverhampton card set for transfer

Tomorrow's all-weather card at Wolverhampton could be transferred to its sister course at Southwell even before racing's rulers discover whether the original West Midlands venue lies within a newly mapped infected area for foot-and-mouth disease, it emerged today.

Wolverhampton's Saturday night fixture survived despite news of a new outbreak in the close vicinity. But, since then, a further case has been confirmed and the track may come to lie within an infected area. This would make it the tenth course in the UK now unusable due to the spread of the disease.

Although trainers today declared 62 horses for Wolverhampton's six-race card, they may be asked by race-planners at the British Horseracing Board (BHB) for flexibility enough to transfer their attentions to Southwell.

Early indications are that all of tomorrow's races bar one could be virtually replicated at Southwell, owned like Wolverhampton by Arena Leisure. But officials are considering dispensation from late withdrawal fines for those trainers who believe their horses unsuited to Southwell, having declared to race at Wolverhampton.

"We are still awaiting news from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) on whether Wolverhampton now falls into an infected area. But obviously, they are very busy and there comes a time when we have to remove uncertainty from tomorrow's racing, particularly now that Plumpton's abandonment leaves it as the sole surviving card," said BHB communications manager, Alan Delmonte.

"There are many difficult logistical considerations, not least for trainers, but these are exceptional circumstances."