There was speculation that horse racing in Britain would commence at the beginning of May, but those plans look to have once again been quashed with more British racing cancellations.
British horse racing organizers announced the postponement of two of their biggest Flat-racing festivals amid the coronavirus outbreak.
There is still hope the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting will be staged behind closed doors, but the news isn’t so great for The Guineas Festival at Newmarket slated for May 2-3 and the English Derby Festival at Epsom on June 5-6; both have been canceled.
British racing cancellations has affected British sports calendar.
The Jockey Club said on Tuesday that by removing two of the few remaining major events on the British sporting calendar, British sport as a whole had been wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.
Then came the announcement that Royal Ascot on June 16-20, an event typically attended by Queen Elizabeth II and other Royals, would not be open to the public – if the event can take place at all.
“It may prove possible to run the Royal Ascot races behind closed doors, dependent on government and public health policy and the approval of the British Horseracing Authority for us to restart racing,” Ascot Racecourse said.
“This would be for the benefit of the industry, our valued partners and suppliers, and our television audiences at home and internationally.
“Planning for this is now our complete focus.”
Organizers said they were looking at alternative dates for the Newmarket and Epsom meetings “given the importance of (them) to the careers of that generation of horses, and the racing and bloodstock industries as a whole.”
The Derby is the most prestigious Flat race in Britain, while the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas – two of the other “Classics” in the British racing calendar – take place at the Newmarket meeting in early May.
If races are to be postponed, trainers are nervously awaiting the green light from The Jockey Club in order to step up their horses’ preparation.
Racing has officially been suspended until the end of April. The BHA was hoping for a resumption on May 1 as part of what it called a “COVID-19 operational plan”
Flat racing became the priority of the BHA, ahead of jumps racing, “principally for reasons of safety and to minimize demands on emergency services,” the organization said.
British Horse Racing Schedule – Provisional Dates For Guineas, Derby, Oaks And Ascot
