RACING RESUMPTION LATEST: We received plenty of Horse Racing news on Tueday evening as the Jockey Club announced that the Guineas Festival and Derby Festival won’t go ahead as planned on May 2-3 and June 5-6 respectively.
The Jockey Club are currently in talks with the BHA to find new dates, with the hope being that the Classics can go ahead later in the season.
A statement from Phil White, London regional director for Jockey Club racecourses, said: “Following consultation with our many event stakeholders and in order to comply with current government guidance, given the unique nature of the Downs as a public space, sadly it is not practical to stage the Investec Derby Festival on June 5 and 6.”
“We’re now working with the sport to explore our options to reschedule, at minimum, The Investec Derby and the Investec Oaks, as part of delivering the 2020 Classic programme for three-year-olds. We thank all involved fortheir pragmatism and patience as we work this through together.”
The News wasn’t all bad for racing fans though as Royal Ascot announced that they could race behind closed doors in June.
Royal Ascot is scheduled to take place between June 16 and 20. The general assumption had been that it wasn’t financially viable however Ascot chief executive Guy Henderson said: “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 BHA for us to restart racing. Planning for this is our complete focus and we’ll update on our progress”
All races scheduled at Royal Ascot could take place as planned, with significantly less prize money on offer. As it stands though, the BHA await the all-clear from the UK Government on when the lockdown in the UK could possibly end. Whenever that may happen, it’s certain that racing will be behind closed doors for a long time afterwards. All we can do is wait for news.
