By Michael Perry SYDNEY, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Thoroughbred racing resumed in three Australian states on Saturday under strict bio-security, ending a nationwide racing ban imposed a week ago following an outbreak of equine flu. But while the states of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania staged races, the rest of the nation continued to battle the spread of equine flu, with hundreds of horses quarantined. Australia's first outbreak of equine flu has forced racing to be halted indefinitely in the worst affected state, New South Wales, with Queensland state hoping to resume racing next week. The racing shutdown is costing the industry tens of millions of dollars each day, with officials warning a week of no racing will cost the country's biggest wagering firm, Tabcorp, an estimated A$100 million ($82 million). Victoria's Caulfield racetrack staged an 11 race meeting on Saturday, with an exclusion zone to prevent the public from coming into contact with the horses. "It is a tribute to a lot of people that we are able to be here at Caulfield today, but we have to be vigilant," Victoria Racing Minister Rob Hulls told reporters at the track. Fences were erected around the stabling area to keep people at least 15 metres (45 feet) from the horses and owners and media were kept away by a screen of flower boxes in the mounting yard. Trainers and jockeys have also been prevented from mingling with the public. Some of Australia's top jockeys and trainers from NSW state, including 11-time Melbourne Cup winner Bart Cummings, have been banned from interstate racetracks in an effort to stop the spread of equine flu. PHANTOM RACE MEETINGS Sydney's lucrative spring racing carnival has been cancelled after the city's premier racetrack Royal Randwick was quarantined for 50 days with infected horses. Race-starved Sydney gamblers on Saturday gathered at the city's Canterbury racetrack to place bets on the Caulfield races interstate. Some 400 gamblers placed bets with 25 bookmakers, while watching the races on television. "I saw it (advertised) in the newspaper this morning and I think it's great...to come out here and bet with the bookies just like we would at the races," said gambler Bill Hogg. Hundreds of people involved in the racing industry, from track riders to transport workers, have been laid off and the Australian government has announced a A$4 million emergency fund for people suffering financial difficulty due to equine flu. Even the iconic outback Birdsville races were cancelled, for the first time in 120 years, but inventive gamblers who had travelled for days to reach the isolated town staged stuffed hobby horse races. "We've got some hobby horses, heads on sticks with little wheels on the back of them," said Lisa Pearson from the Birdsville Hotel. While bookmakers at the dusty Birdsville racetrack took real bets on interstate races. The equine flu outbreak has also hit Australia's thoroughbred breeding season, when some of the world's top stallions arrive from the northern hemisphere. About 40 international stallions have been quarantined in Australia. Australian officials suspect the equine flu might have come from Japan, which was recently hit by a large outbreak. Racing was cancelled in Japan for the first time in more than 35 years after almost 100 horses tested positive. Equine flu is not infectious to humans but has the same debilitating effect on horses as influenza has on people. In rare cases, it can be fatal to horses.
