Welsh racing 'cautiously optimistic' with return of unlimited crowds on Tuesday

Welsh racing is set to welcome back crowds on Tuesday for the first time this year after limits on attendance were lifted last week.

Ffos Las will open its doors to the public following the Welsh government's decision to lift Covid-19 measures that restricted crowds at outdoor sporting events to 500 people.

Although Chepstow will join Ffos Las in welcoming the public back to the racecourse on Friday, Phil Bell, executive director for both courses, expects the uptake to be a gradual process.

He said: "The fixtures this week are very quiet but we're not surprised. Last summer it took time for the penny to drop that people could come back, so it looks like that's happening again and it will take a couple of meetings before people fully realise racing is back.

"Friday's Chepstow meeting is quiet for general admissions, but the restaurant is very strong for bookings. The annual members are excited to be coming back and fingers crossed there are no more issues. It seems to be heading in the right direction."

Phil Bell: 'There still an element of uncertainty in the air'

Bell expects Chepstow's Saturday meetings, the first of which is set for February 26, to give a better indication of returning crowd sizes and is confident Wales will be back to normal attendance levels in the spring.

He said: "Chepstow's Saturday meeting at the end of February is trading very well and also the April meeting. What's happened is that crowds are back but we haven't had the biggest fixtures to appeal to them in the short term. It's harder to get a barometer for Ffos Las as we only have midweek fixtures coming up, but the big Saturday meetings could do very well.

"There still an element of uncertainty in the air. You can do as much promotion as you like but there's been so many changes to the rules in the last 18 months that the general public are a bit unsure and cautious.

"I'm confident as we get into the spring that we'll be back to normal crowd sizes. We're just hoping there's nothing lurking out there that's going to cause another problem. We need a clear run now and we're cautiously optimistic."

Racing in Wales was put behind closed doors a week before the Welsh National, the biggest day of the year at Chepstow and a huge blow to the track.

Scotland announced an easing in crowd limits on January 17 and will enjoy its first open-doors meeting of the new year on Thursday at Kelso, with Musselburgh set to welcome back a full crowd on Saturday for the feature Edinburgh National.

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