Karl Burke: every trainer is getting frustrated as they wait to see a plan

Karl Burke has expressed frustration at the difficulties posed by the lack of a programme to work from ahead of the return of racing.

The trainer acknowledged no resumption will be possible until the government and public health guidelines allow, but pointed to the logistical problems of not yet knowing what races will be available.

"Every trainer is getting frustrated as they wait to see a plan," he said. "We don't need a start date – we just need a programme of what races are going to be available from the first day.

"This isn't about trainers wanting to do what they like. That's not the case, we all know we've got to work within the confines of the coronavirus and go when the government says."

'We need a programme to work to'

There are provisional plans for racing to resume in Europe next week and earlier this month Germany issued a revised six-week schedule for a proposed resumption on May 4, while a new French programme was published last week with a start date of May 11.

"We need a programme to work to," said Burke. "The football teams know who they'll be playing when they resume – if able to – but we haven't got a clue what we're doing.

"The French have got their programme, the Germans have got theirs and we need one too. The start date can then follow on from there."

The Middleham trainer, who had sent out 12 winners from just 57 runners in 2020 before racing was shut down last month, said he has "60 or 70 horses" who could be ready to run within two weeks.

"I presume the first couple of weeks are going to be messy and it's going to be a totally different programme to what was originally planned but if that goes okay, I hope we can kick on to a normal programme," added Burke. "That's what they're telling us so why can't they get that provisional programme out?

"It's not to appease the trainers. It's so that trainers can appease owners and say we've got targets to go for, to tell them we don't know when we're starting but there are races for their horses."

Details on new plans forthcoming

An update from the sport's cross-industry resumption of racing group was released on April 24 and outlined its intention to publish a revised programme for the first two months after resumption. The statement was distributed to all trainers.

"When racing resumes, the intention is to keep the race programme as close to normal as practicable, with opportunities for all classes and ages of horses, including two-year-olds," the statement read.

"We are working on a fixture list and an outline race programme for the first two months following resumption, which we intend to publish within the next fortnight. This will provide a sense of how the calendar would look on resumption."

The resumption of racing group is expected to issue another update on Thursday and it is understood it will offer further details on the options being considered for racing when it restarts.

Read more:

Moore to take cautious approach to regional hubs while Goshen given Ebor target

French racing still set for May restart despite sport restrictions by government

Matt Hancock offers public defence of Cheltenham Festival taking place

Keep up to date on the must-have news, tips, photos and more by following the Racing Post across all social channels