Beverley chief raises fears of premierisation leading to 'dumbing down' and lack of midweek quality

Beverley chief executive Sally Iggulden has outlined her concerns about the "dumbing down" of core fixtures next year as part of the BHA's premierisation initiative and the possible loss of prime Saturday slots.

A plan to create a two-hour Saturday shop window between 2pm and 4pm featuring just two Premier meetings and an additional fixture was signed off by the BHA board last month as part of a major shake-up to the 2024 fixture list. Among the other innovations set to be introduced next year are the trial of six Sunday evening floodlit fixtures, the reduction of 300 jump races across the year and better quality racing on Sunday afternoons.

"We always want to improve the competitiveness of racing, but the details are still a bit hazy at the moment," said Iggulden, who welcomed approximately 7,000 racegoers to the track on Saturday, when three races were shown by ITV Racing.