Chepstow 'geared up for any eventuality' with Covid measures looming on Monday

Officials at Chepstow will have to wait until Monday to find out if the Welsh government is to impose any restrictions on sporting events that could impact the Coral Welsh Grand National meeting on December 27, one of the biggest racing fixtures over the festive period.

First minister Mark Drakeford told BBC Breakfast that his cabinet will take the weekend to gather additional information about the Omicron variant and talk to organisers before making any decisions.

Chepstow executive director Phil Bell said the track was "ready for all eventualities" for its biggest meeting of the year.

Covid certification for outdoor unseated events with more than 4,000 people was introduced in Wales on October 11, well ahead of the same requirement in England, which began on Wednesday.

With health policy devolved from Westminster to the administrations in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast, it will be the Welsh government that has the ultimate say on any change of rules affecting Chepstow, Bangor and Ffos Las.

Asked on BBC News whether he envisaged any restrictions on sporting events, Drakeford said on Friday morning: "We'll be making some announcements about that on Monday.

"The cabinet decided yesterday that we need some extra information about the way the Omicron variant operates outdoors, particularly in places where there are already safeguards like the Covid pass in Wales in place.

"We'll talk to the organisers of those big rugby derbies, the Welsh Grand National and football matches that are planned, and then we'll come to some decisions on Monday as to how those events can go ahead."

The crowd looks on as a runner parades at ChepstowCredit: Getty Images

The mild weather means there are none of the ground concerns that emerge in some years about whether Chepstow will be raceable.

But Bell is realistic about the possibility of adverse news in terms of restrictions given the rapid spread of the new Covid variant.

"We'll be geared up for any eventuality and at least with the announcement coming on Monday, we've got time to action whatever we need to," said Bell.

"Advance ticket sales have been going quite well and at the moment we're looking at about 7,000 people. Normally they ramp up quite significantly in the last week.

"How that will be impacted with this uncertainty is difficult to know."

The UK government has given no indication yet that further restrictions at sporting events in England are being considered, although the exponential growth of Covid cases means every racecourse is keeping a close eye on developments.

No crowd limits for Wetherby's Christmas fixture

Wetherby's two-day Christmas fixture on December 26-27 will go ahead with no anticipated cap on numbers after the racecourse executive submitted revised proposals to the safety advisory group on Leeds City Council in light of the UK government's implementation of Plan B measures.

Chief executive Jonjo Sanderson said: "As the guidance is written you don't need permission if your event falls between December 15 and 29 but I'd rather have the council behind me, which is why I resubmitted our plans.

"We're not capping the numbers and the only restrictions will be that you must present Covid certification.

"So we have a better handle on numbers and can communicate with everybody onsite, we'll be operating as a ticket-only meeting on both days with no walk-ups."

There are no plans to cap attendance at Wetherby on December 26 and 27 but all tickets must be purchased in advanceCredit: Edward Whitaker

Wetherby could expect as many as 10,000 customers on December 26 for the feature William Hill Rowland Meyrick Chase in a normal year but the pandemic, as well as the fact that attendance may be more evenly spread as both days of the meeting are bank holidays this year, has tempered Sanderson's expectations.

"In a zero Covid-19 environment and with no weather issues we'd be looking at 8,000 to 10,000 depending on whether Leeds United are playing at home and other bits and bobs," said Sanderson.

"I would imagine we'll get to about 5,000 on Boxing Day and probably around the same or marginally fewer on the second day."

No concerns for Ascot on Saturday despite cancellations

Ascot expects around 15,000 people through the turnstiles on Saturday for the Grade 1 Howden Long Walk Hurdle card.

London and the south-east of England are the epicentre of the Omicron surge but director of racing Nick Smith said Ascot's size means racegoers can attend with confidence.

Smith said: "We've seen some cancellations this week, as you would expect, but they've been in the hundreds.

"We're a large site and the weather is good, so people will be able to spread out in the open much more than would be the case at many very cold meetings at this time of year."

Smith said conversations with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead's safety advisory group were "almost a weekly occurrence" but that with Ascot a long way below capacity there were no concerns in relation to the government guidelines.

Kempton's two-day Ladbrokes Christmas festival kicks off on December 26 and the track is understood to have worked with its various contractors on a contingency plan to ensure enough staff are on hand, while there are currently no plans to limit the size of the crowd.

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