Stopping the race that stops a nation? Say it ain't so!

Equine influenza is, obviously, never good news.

Distressing for animals. Distressing for owners. Taxing for veterinarians.

Troubling for everyone involved in equine industries.

But the news that Australia has detected the virus in recent days was more painful than tidings of your average outbreak.

The position of the Melbourne Cup in the psyche and the hearts of Australians is hard to convey to non-Aussies. "The race that stops a nation" is the accepted cliche. But, in common with most cliches, it's a truism.

On the first Tuesday of every November in every workplace, school and college, all productive activity ceases for the duration of the race itself and in most, a "Melbourne Cup lunch" ensures that little, if anything, actually gets done all day.

The Australian who hasn't got a stake in at least one Melbourne Cup sweepstake is a rare bird indeed. Betting shops routinely have queues out of the front door on the preceding Monday, mostly once-a-year punters who never have a flutter on anything else - but never fail to have their $1 on the Melbourne Cup.

It's more than a decade since I lived in Australia but one of my two tiny annual wagers is placed on whatever takes my fancy in the Melbourne Cup. And I have even been known to bake Lamingtons for my staff on Cup day...

To the best of my knowledge, the race has never previously been cancelled. To do so now is almost unthinkable.

Almost.

In the face of a burgeoning equine 'flu outbreak, it's the only sensible course of action.

But that doesn't make it any easier.