<p>Bengaluru: The stewards of the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) on Friday announced the cancellation of the remainder of the Winter Season after two horses were diagnosed with the deadly glanders disease.</p><p>“In view of the two horses stationed at Bangalore Turf Club Limited being tested positive for Glanders and further State Government of Karnataka issuing Notification dated 16.12.2025 declaring as notified area as per Section 6 of The Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act 2009 and Clause 4.2 of National Action Plan for Control and Eradication of Glanders in India (Revised 2025) by DAHD, GOI Delhi, the Stewards of the Bangalore Turf Club Limited have decided to cancel the remaining races of the ongoing Bangalore Winter Meeting 2025-26,” said a statement from the club.</p>.Glanders positive horse euthanised, Bangalore Turf Club declared 'notified area'.<p>Ever since the Government Veterinary Hospital in Hebbal suspected five horses to be down with glanders infection — a deadly disease caused by the bacterium Burkholderia mallei that mainly affects horses, donkeys or mules — earlier this month, racing has been in limbo.</p><p>BTC sent 20 samples to the National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) in Hisar, Haryana — the nodal agency for determining the outbreak of any zoonotic or any epidemic related to animals in the country — right after local tests as per government protocols. Of the 20, NRCE cleared 11 horses and asked BTC to send samples of nine horses again, of which one was confirmed glanders positive.</p><p>That horse was euthanised by the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department on Tuesday, which also declared the 2-kilometre radius around BTC as a “Notified Area”. Restrictions were also imposed on the movement of horses in and out of BTC as per the ‘National Action Plan for Control and Eradication of Glanders in India’. </p><p>To make matters worse, one more turned up positive on Wednesday, which spelt the death knell for racing this season. Although the season is cancelled, the road to recovery is an arduous one for the BTC. There are about 650 horses at BTC — one of the largest in the country — and now samples of each of them have to be sent to NRCE for testing thrice every 21 days. Only when all results come out negative in three cycles will BTC be declared a safe zone and all restrictions would be removed. Even one glanders positive means repeating the cycle.</p><p>Considering glanders is incurable and highly contagious — it can even spread to humans who work in close proximity with the affected animals — BTC will have to be extremely vigilant in dealing with the outbreak. </p>
<p>Bengaluru: The stewards of the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) on Friday announced the cancellation of the remainder of the Winter Season after two horses were diagnosed with the deadly glanders disease.</p><p>“In view of the two horses stationed at Bangalore Turf Club Limited being tested positive for Glanders and further State Government of Karnataka issuing Notification dated 16.12.2025 declaring as notified area as per Section 6 of The Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act 2009 and Clause 4.2 of National Action Plan for Control and Eradication of Glanders in India (Revised 2025) by DAHD, GOI Delhi, the Stewards of the Bangalore Turf Club Limited have decided to cancel the remaining races of the ongoing Bangalore Winter Meeting 2025-26,” said a statement from the club.</p>.Glanders positive horse euthanised, Bangalore Turf Club declared 'notified area'.<p>Ever since the Government Veterinary Hospital in Hebbal suspected five horses to be down with glanders infection — a deadly disease caused by the bacterium Burkholderia mallei that mainly affects horses, donkeys or mules — earlier this month, racing has been in limbo.</p><p>BTC sent 20 samples to the National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) in Hisar, Haryana — the nodal agency for determining the outbreak of any zoonotic or any epidemic related to animals in the country — right after local tests as per government protocols. Of the 20, NRCE cleared 11 horses and asked BTC to send samples of nine horses again, of which one was confirmed glanders positive.</p><p>That horse was euthanised by the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department on Tuesday, which also declared the 2-kilometre radius around BTC as a “Notified Area”. Restrictions were also imposed on the movement of horses in and out of BTC as per the ‘National Action Plan for Control and Eradication of Glanders in India’. </p><p>To make matters worse, one more turned up positive on Wednesday, which spelt the death knell for racing this season. Although the season is cancelled, the road to recovery is an arduous one for the BTC. There are about 650 horses at BTC — one of the largest in the country — and now samples of each of them have to be sent to NRCE for testing thrice every 21 days. Only when all results come out negative in three cycles will BTC be declared a safe zone and all restrictions would be removed. Even one glanders positive means repeating the cycle.</p><p>Considering glanders is incurable and highly contagious — it can even spread to humans who work in close proximity with the affected animals — BTC will have to be extremely vigilant in dealing with the outbreak. </p>