Musselburgh Racecourse's richest-ever jumps meeting, scheduled for this Sunday, has been cancelled due to the equine flu outbreak.

Horse racing in Britain will not resume until next Wednesday at the earliest after three vaccinated horses tested positive for the disease in England. 

The East Lothian fixture was to feature eight races with £160,000 in prize money and a big crowd was expected to attend until the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) imposed the ban. 

"We are really disappointed that the latest update regarding equine flu has resulted in our Sunday fixture being abandoned," said a statement on Musselburgh Racecourse's Twitter page.

"The welfare of the horses and the containment of the flu is paramount. Ticket bookers will receive an email shortly with more information on refunds."

It's a further blow for the county racecourse after a frozen track forced the abandonment earlier this month of its bet365 Scottish Cheltenham Trials weekend.

All UK fixtures were called off on Thursday by the BHA and one of the UK’s leading trainers, Donald McCain, confirmed the horses came from his Cheshire stables.

Horses from the infected yard raced on Wednesday – including at Ayr – potentially exposing a significant number of other runners to the virus. Other stables around the UK are in lockdown for testing by vets.