King Prawn decision next week A decision on whether to lift a ban on Fairy King Prawn from entering Japan to compete in the Yasuda Kinen is set to be made early next week, the Hong Kong Jockey Club said today. The Japanese Racing Association (JRA) said it took the decision to bar Fairy King Prawn because Hong Kong was one of the territories where horses might be infected with foot-and-mouth disease. It denied that the move came after fears that the five-year-old had been exposed to foot-and-mouth disease during March`s World Cup meeting in Dubai. In a statement issued today, the Hong Kong Jockey Club said the JRA were continuing talks with government officials to allow the Hong Kong based horse to defend his title in the Yasuda Kinen on June 3th. It was understood that 'a decision will be made on the matter early next week.' 'We again thank the JRA for their continuous efforts to help negotiate a solution to the present problem,' the jockey club`s executive director Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresgessaid. 'We are optimistic that this issue can be resolved in a satifactory manner.'
