No imminent return to racing after government statement | Race News


The hope that the resumption of racing is imminent seems to have been badly affected following the announcement by the government that there will be no professional sport, even behind closed doors, in England until June 1 at least.

The government's roadmap to break the blockade, imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus, was released on Monday afternoon, setting out the conditions under which various activities can be carried out safely.

The second stage of the roadmap, which cannot start before June 1, includes "allowing cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors for dissemination, avoiding the risk of social contact on a large scale".

However, this will only be possible if sufficient progress is made to limit the spread of the virus from time to time, but the document entitled "Our reconstruction plan: the British government's recovery strategy Covid-19" says that "The organizations have to plan accordingly. "

It is less clear when viewers can return to the scene.

The document talks about places like cinemas and hair salons that will reopen in step three, not before July 4, but it states: "Some places that by design are overcrowded and where it can being difficult to adopt distances may not yet be able to reopen safely at this point, or it can only be safely opened partially. "

Racing industry leaders were already meeting to discuss the implications of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's speech on Sunday evening.

The British Horse Racing Authority tweeted Monday morning: "Industry leaders are meeting to discuss the information available and will publish a first response later today.

"The BHA continues to contact the government regarding yesterday's speech, and we await further advice this afternoon and tomorrow.

"In the meantime, we continue to plan the resumption of racing, along with our industry colleagues."

The races have not been held in Britain since the March 17 Wetherby and Taunton meetings, which were held behind closed doors. The accessories were initially abandoned until the end of April, before being extended to an unspecified date.

In the "best case", two high-level weekends were scheduled for the end of May, with the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas the first weekend in June.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *