For the second year in a row horses from Japan will not compete in the Melbourne Cup.
This follows fears of equine influenza being reintroduced, forcing Australia to ban them.
Last year doubts were thrown around whether the most famous horse race in Australasia would go ahead.
2006 was a succesful year for Japanese racing, with Delta Blues and stablemate Pop Rock coming home first and second.
Race meetings in Japan were disrupted last year after 29 of 163 horses at a Japan Racing Association facility showed signs of the influenza.