Melbourne Cup field reduced to 23 after French imported horse scratched

The Melbourne Cup field for this afternoon is down to 23 starters following the scratching of French imported horse Athabascan after a veterinary inspection.

All 24 horses had gone through their mandatory final veterinary inspections yesterday before the big race.

Athabascan was found to have a cardiac arrhythmia where the ECG reports and blood tests were then passed on to three independent experts.

Racing Victoria in a statement highlighted that the experts independently advised that due to the nature of the cardiac arrhythmia, Athabascan should undergo further extensive testing before being permitted to race again on the grounds of safety.

The remainder of the field was passed fit to race.

The Melbourne Cup race will start at 4pm today.

[Source: ABC News]