Yorkshire open day goes virtual this weekend due to Covid-19 restrictions

Racing Welfare is to host the second of three online open days on Sunday in the guise of the Yorkshire Open Day, which is being held in place of the Middleham and Malton Open Days, cancelled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the continued support of Arena Racing Company (Arc), the Virtual Yorkshire Open Day will feature trainers from across the county providing video tours and other insights into their training operations.

The event will also allow viewers to participate from home through an online dog show, with winners decided by public vote, and an art competition, which will be judged by Racing Welfare ambassador and artist Darren ‘Birdie’ Bird.

The charity, which staged a Virtual Epsom open day last month, is also well advanced with plans for an online version of the annual Henry Cecil open weekend at Newmarket on September 19-20 and will feature the Clipper Logistics showjumping and coverage of many equine sites in the town.

Dawn Goodfellow, chief executive of Racing Welfare, said: “We are thrilled that, despite being unable to hold our open days in their usual format this year, we are still able to showcase these fantastic racing centres."

The events are free to view and registration is now open for both. All those who register in advance will receive a free online programme featuring exclusive content. For all details and to register for the Virtual Yorkshire Open Day, view

Full details of the Henry Cecil Open Weekend can be found at: .

Envoi Allen goes chasing

Brilliant dual Cheltenham Festival winner Envoi Allen will go chasing this season after trainer Gordon Elliott described him as having been “bought to be a Gold Cup horse” at Punchestown on Wednesday.

Elliott has always thought of the imposing six-year-old, who stretched his 100 per cent record to eight when winning the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle opposition in March, as a chaser in the making.

The Cheveley Park-owned Envoi Allen, a £400,000 acquisition after triumphing on his sole point-to-point start at Ballinaboola in February 2018, heads the ante-post markets for the Marsh and RSA Novices' Chases at best-priced odds of 3-1 and 7-1.

A top-priced 14-1 for the Unibet Champion Hurdle, the 2019 Champion Bumper scorer, whose eight wins include four Grade 1s, is unlikely to stay over the smaller obstacles after Ruby Walsh put the question to Elliott on Racing TV.

“He was bought to be a Gold Cup horse, so you can use your head after that,” the trainer replied. When Walsh responded that that meant he would be going chasing, Elliott replied: “Exactly.”

Rouget secures services of Colin Keane for Leopardstown ride on Sottsass

Colin Keane has been snapped up to ride leading Irish Champion Stakes contender Sottsass in Saturday's Leopardstown highlight, with trainer Jean-Claude Rouget opting for a rider with local experience for the €750,000 prize.

The 2019 Prix du Jockey Club hero, who finished third behind Waldgeist and Enable in last season's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, was just touched off on his return from a break in a Deauville Group 3 last month but is on course for a tilt at the Longines Irish Champions Weekend feature.

The four-year-old has been ridden by Cristian Demuro in his last six starts, including when landing the Prix Ganay earlier this year.

"Everything is fine with the horse for now and he leaves for Leopardstown on Friday," said Rouget. "The plan is for Colin Keane to ride."

The leading French handler will be hoping history can repeat itself, having memorably won the Irish Champion Stakes in 2016 with the brilliant Almanzor.

Southwell's next three jumps fixtures transferred to new venues

The BHA has announced the transfer of Southwell's next three jumps fixtures after National Hunt racing was suspended at the track last Thursday.

Southwell was already under investigation after six horses lost their lives in less than a month at the Nottinghamshire circuit and, following two fatalities last week, the BHA and Arena Racing Company (Arc) closed the jumps track.

The three have been moved to Hexham (September 15), Ffos Las (October 1) and Lingfield (October 22). Each track will stage a seven-race card with the option to divide to eight races.

RCA approves new jockeys' badge scheme

The Racecourse Association has approved the launch of a jockey recognition badge scheme which will provide complimentary access to all racecourses for riders who have ridden out their claim.

The idea was proposed by ex-PJA chief executive Josh Apiafi, and was unanimously agreed to by the RCA board as an acknowledgement of the skill and dedication required to ride out a claim.

Riding out a claim requires 95 winners for Flat jockeys and 75 winners for jump jockeys.

Apiafi suggested the scheme earlier this year as a means of providing retired riders with a sense of community at the end of their career to promote ongoing positive mental health.

RCA chief executive David Armstrong said: "The jockey recognition badge is a fantastic initiative and demonstrates our gratitude to jockeys for their service to the sport. Mental health remains a key subject for us and I hope this badge is another initiative which will make a difference to its recipients."

Apiafi added: "The support of the jockey profession by all areas of the racing industry is sport-leading. The advent of the jockey recognition badge further shows the commitment of the RCA and its members to jockey welfare.

"I've been overwhelmed by the calls and messages from jockeys past and present, passing on their thanks for assisting in the launch of this fantastic initiative."

The jockey recognition badge will be launched into circulation in 2021.

Chief executive of National Horse Racing Museum resigns

The National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket has parted company with its chief executive and curator Steven Parissien, who quit his role last week after just 15 months in the job.

Parissien, who was not from a racing background, succeeded Chris Garibaldi in the post early last year and was brought into address disappointing visitor numbers at the £15 million Palace House site which was opened by the Queen in 2016.

Steven Parissien has resigned just 15 months into the job as chief executive of NHRM

The museum, which was not helped by a £50,000 theft of ten gold or gold-plated trophies during lockdown in May of this year – none of which have yet been recovered – is now overseen by recently appointed chairman Stephen Bourne, who is both a Newmarket resident and racegoer.

Bourne said: "Steven tended his resignation last week which I accepted. I don't want to go into specifics about why he did, but I would say that in the current Covid-19 climate, many people are revising their options. As I recently took over as chairman it gives me an opportunity for a revision of the organisation of the museum which we have recently rebranded."

On the wider challenges faced by museums, who were only allowed to reopen at the end of July, he added: "We've suffered financially all right as we had no footfall at all for five months, but not as badly as some smaller museums who have really suffered. It could be that we don't have a chief executive in the future, but hopefully we can get people to find us easier and I expect to increase our social media presence to address this."

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