Iran war disrupting horseracing industry, say firms

Businesses in the horseracing sector say the war in Iran is disrupting the movement of animals to and from international destinations.

At the height of a sale at Tattersalls in Newmarket, up to 400 horses need transporting from the Suffolk town, the centre of Britain's horse racing industry, to locations including in the Middle East.

Kevin Needham, managing director of BBA Shipping and Transport, said the situation had led to a "major slowdown" for the company, with up to 30 thoroughbreds stuck.

"We were in a position where very many freighters go through either Dubai or Doha and the airspace is closed down there so we're having some severe frictions in getting horses out," he said.

Newmarket and the surrounding area has many links with the horseracing industry in the Middle East, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, of the United Arab Emirates, running stables in the town as part of his international Godolphin operation.

BBA Shipping and Transport specialises in the worldwide movement of horses by air, road and sea.

Needham says the equine sector contributes £300m to Newmarket's economy.

"Personally we've only got I would think about 20 or 30 horses affected," he said.

"I know that Dubai's got the World Cup coming up and that's going to have a major effect on them.

"It's a worry for everybody in Newmarket as you have to remember that British racing and breeding contributes £4bn to the UK economy, and if we lose all of our export sales it has a devastating effect."

Sarah Dugdale works for Syndicate Group, a Qatari company which also specialises in shipping horses and trading supplies.

Dugdale, who is currently in Doha and has 11 horses stranded, said the situation had been "quite chaotic".

She said delays would affect schedules, including blood tests and flu vaccinations.

"Nobody has any answers at all, so it is quite worrying because you've got this whole industry that has sort of now come to a standstill," she said.

"Understandably airspace remains closed because the main priority is people's safety."

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