British racing could take place behind closed doors in 48 hours says Arc boss

Racing could take place in Britain without spectators within the next 48 hours as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with the restrictions potentially lasting until the end of June in the worst-case scenario, according to the head of Arena Racing Company (Arc).

Martin Cruddace, Arc chief executive, backed the approach taken by the BHA to follow government advice on dealing with the outbreak and spread of Covid-19, but believes the mounting pressure to place severe restrictions on crowds and mass gatherings will force racing’s hand in the near future.

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He said: “Where we are right now is we’re following the current government advice, but I think it’s safe to say that’s very likely to change imminently. It’s important we are, and we are, prepared for what’s coming our way.

“The only thing we can do as a responsible company and, dare I say it, an industry, is to follow the government’s advice. We are outliers with other parts of the racing world, but I think we should be prepared for an imminent change.

“My own personal view is that could be within the next 48 hours. We’re planning, worst-case scenario, end of June. It is absolutely possible we won’t race again in front of a crowd until the end of June. If it happens before then, great.”

The potential impact on Arc from losing income from attendances over the next three months prompted Cruddace to call for additional aid to allow some fixtures that would otherwise be “financially unviable” to go ahead.

Coronavirus measures were put in place at the Cheltenham FestivalCredit: Getty Images

Cruddace also believes racing should seek to work closely with bookmakers to be able to offer a betting product while other sports are shutdown entirely as a result of coronavirus quarantines.

Speaking on Sky Sports Racing, he said: “It’s going to be very difficult financially for us to race unless we have some support from elsewhere. For us, many of those meetings would not be financially viable for us to put on [without crowds] unless we have relief.

“We also need to support the bookmaking industry as it’s a symbiotic relationship. Right now we could be one of the few sports that is there every day for people to bet on and we have a responsibility to work with them to know what we can do for them and the ecosystem of horseracing.”

Racing’s Covid-19 industry steering group is continuing to meet daily to discuss the latest developments around the illness and its potential impact on the sport.

The BHA has been adopting a ‘business as usual’ approach to coronavirus while liaising with government, but Monday’s meeting at Kelso will take place behind closed doors in anticipation of a move from the Scottish government to restrict crowds to a maximum of 500 people.

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