Queen 'wants racing stopped'

Queen Elizabeth believes racing should be suspended during the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

She has corresponded with racing officials, expressing the view that a hard look should be taken at whether the sport should continue in the current circumstances.

The Queen is patron of the Jockey Club, the sport's governing body, and a long-term horse racing supporter.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The Queen is aware of the debate surrounding racing while foot-and-mouth is in its infective phase but any view she has on the matter would be expressed privately."

Earlier this week, the Prince of Wales donated £500,000 to help farmers stricken by foot-and-mouth outbreak.

A Jockey Club spokesman said "no special letter has been received" and racing would continue.

He said it had consulted the Ministry of Agriculture's risk management department whose advice was that the potential for spreading the disease was "negligible".

He said: "Racing has got precautions in place for every racegoer and vehicle that arrives at a race meeting and because there is no additional threat racing is continuing to take place under a controlled programme of fixtures and measures.

"All horses have to be disinfected and all racegoers and vehicles have to go through disinfected pads."