British racing stands alone as coronavirus crisis deepens and sports shut down

Racing is the last major sport in Britain still staging action before its customers but with the prospect of it being forced behind closed doors in the near future as the coronavirus crisis grows.

Despite the suggestion late on Friday that a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people could be imminent the BHA has reiterated its stance "to continue with business as usual" until an official change of government policy is formally announced.

The position puts British racing at odds with not only other racing jurisdictions such as France and Ireland, but a raft of other sports including football, tennis, golf, F1 and rugby, which have postponed or cancelled competitions.

It is thought a clampdown may take effect next weekend and would force racing in Britain to take place behind closed doors or be cancelled. That would put at risk the start of the Flat season on turf at Doncaster on March 28 and the Grand National meeting at Aintree the following week.

Prime minister Boris Johnson did not call for sporting events to be cancelled on Thursday when he announced the move to the delay stage of the government's coronavirus action plan.

England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty had previously said stopping mass gatherings would not have a huge impact on the spread of the virus, but the decision has been made in some other countries to limit the strain on public services.

As of 9am on Sunday, 40,279 people have been tested in the UK, of which 38,907 were confirmed negative and 1,372 were confirmed as positive. A total of 35 patients who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, 14 more than the figure released on Friday.

Following the Cheltenham Festival, where crowds in excess of 250,000 attended between Tuesday and Friday, racing continued to remain largely unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak on Saturday.

Behind closed doors at Dundalk: a weird vibe but everybody plays their part

Racing in Ireland took place behind closed doors for the first time since the start of the coronavirus outbreak at Dundalk on Friday night, with Saturday's fixture at Navan following the same protocol, while in Scotland Kelso will race behind closed doors on Monday.

However, Saturday's meetings at Kempton, Fontwell, Uttoxeter, Newcastle and Wolverhampton went ahead without restrictions.

Government guidelines and NHS advice were clearly visible at Uttoxeter's Midlands National meeting, with the track employing 30 extra cleaners on site and spending £6,000 on precautions such as hand sanitisers.

The track's executive director David MacDonald said: "We've stuck to government guidelines and followed the information provided by the BHA, which is speaking to the government every day.

Hand sanitisers at the entrance to Uttoxeter racecourse on Saturday

"The planning has been excellent from Arena Racing Company [Arc], who have been in touch with all the executives and directors from their racecourses and mapped out what it might look like if it goes behind closed doors. We’re ready, and there will be quite a few people sitting at home who will be pleased if tracks can host racing."

Mark Spincer, managing director of the racing division at Arc, said: “I’m really pleased with the crowd. The team at Uttoxeter have done an amazing job in difficult circumstances for everybody.

"People seem to have had a nice time and the number of walk-ups has been higher than in the last two years, but the crowd will be down on what we expected as ticket sales have, understandably, not been at their usual rate in the last couple of weeks."

Spincer also provided a stark warning about the possibility of racing going ahead with a limited attendance.

He said: “We’ve been working closely on the ifs, buts and maybes surrounding the coronavirus situation, be it a reduced crowd or no crowd on racedays.

“Reduced or no crowds would have a very significant impact on racecourses. It’s not just racecourses but everyone involved in racing and the tracks' local economy.

"It doesn’t matter which sporting event it is, it’s going to impact everybody involved, but we’ve got to be safe and do everything we possibly can under the guidelines to ensure we get rid of this pandemic as soon as we can.”

At Uttoxeter, several racegoers expressed their hope racing would at least go ahead behind closed doors if restrictions were put in place, and trainer Martin Keighley echoed those sentiments.

Keighley said: "It would be a disaster for a lot of businesses in the sport if there’s a ban on racing. I’m hoping we can continue behind closed doors so the show is kept on the road."

Uttoxeter racegoers on racing and the coronavirus

Phil Robins: "I had no worries about going racing. There are lots of hand sanitisers to use across the track and I brought my own too. If racing goes behind closed doors then so be it. That would be better than nothing."

Mike O’Shea: "You can’t ignore it but I was happy to go by the government advice. A lot of us are going to get the virus but you could come here and not get it then go to the supermarket on Monday and catch it. I think a ban on all sports events is coming, though."

Rob Jenkins: "As long as the meeting was on I was going to be here. The situation around coronavirus was not enough to put me off and at the very least I hope racing continues without attending public rather than not at all."

Racing's next major events include the valuable meeting at Newbury on Saturday, followed by the start of the Flat season on turf at Doncaster on Saturday, March 28 and the three-day Grand National meeting at Aintree from April 2-4.

Aintree's owner Jockey Club Racecourses on Saturday refused to speculate on the prospects of the Grand National going ahead, referring all queries to the BHA.

On Betfair's 'will racing go ahead' market for Aintree, 'no' was trading at 1-5 with more than £117,000 matched at 5.30pm on Saturday. More than £4 million was traded on a similar market for Cheltenham.

Guidelines for racegoers at Uttoxeter on Saturday

Racing’s Covid-19 industry steering group met on Friday and released a statement saying: "British racing continues to be in close contact with the UK government and has been following their advice to continue with business as usual, subject to public health guidance.

"We are aware of the decisions taken by a number of sports to suspend fixtures in advance of any government decision coming into effect. Racing's leaders are monitoring the situation daily and are considering a range of options in this rapidly developing situation. Contingency plans are ready as required."

In Scotland, Kelso’s fixture on Monday will take place behind closed doors, with Musselburgh potentially taking the same action later this month, after comments made by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about plans to limit gatherings of over 500 people.

Racing authorities in Ireland, France, Australia, America and the UAE have ramped up their approach to the coronavirus outbreak with spectators banned from attending fixtures, including the $35 million Dubai World Cup meeting at Meydan this month.

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