A grand total of 132 racehorses were diagnosed with a mild strain of herpes several days ago following police investigations of deliberate horse poisoning in the city's racetracks.

Fortunately, the horses were declared out of danger by local veterinarians after appropriate treatment was applied. "The horses are showing elevated temperatures but they seem to have recovered after a couple of days of rest. Overall, the symptoms are very mild," said Brian Stewart.

Containment measures were also conducted to stop the spread of the infectious disease. The quarantine measures are proving to be effective as no additional cases have so far been reported.

Police are still investigating how a device found in one of the city's racetracks could be linked to the outbreak of herpes. A small contraption designed to shoot poison darts into the animals at the start of the race was detected and confiscated by law enforcers.

This places the 2007 Beijing Olympics in a precarious position as equestrian events have been moved to the freeport island from Beijing because of disease-control problems. A growing concern among the ranks of the international jockeys may derail the events or have them moved elsewhere. The Hong Kong Jockey Club which sanctions horse race operations in the area has declined to comment so far.