On the day that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced that 80% of its workforce has been furloughed, it also issued an update to racing's stakeholders on its plans towards resuming racing on May 1.
An initial return to action is likely to see racing remaining behind closed doors in anticipation of any easing of COVID-19 restriction measures likely to happen progressively.
The group working on resumption plans is being led by the BHA's Brant Dunshea and includes representatives from the Racecourse Association, National Trainers Federation and Racehorse Owners Association. It is focusing on raceday operations, the ability for horsemen to fill fixtures, and the rescheduling of certain fixtures and races.
Major fixtures affected during the current shutdown, which began on March 18, include Aintree's three-day Grand National meeting, Doncaster's Lincoln Meeting which traditionally heralds the start of the Flat turf season, and a number of Classic trials set to be run during Newmarket's Craven Meeting and the Spring Meeting at Newbury among others.
The working group lists its priorities as:
- To develop a resumption plan that appropriately reflects government advice in place at the time, offering a range of options that can be adapted as required.
- To coordinate detailed operational planning.
- To maintain the resilience of regulatory services.
- To ensure that an appropriate fixture and race programme is in place.
- To liaise with the betting industry and ensure they are engaged around the revised fixture programme.
- To ensure that the needs of broadcasters are recognised at an industry level and can be factored into the redesign of the racing programme.
- To ensure racing's administrative systems and processes can resume racing at the earliest possible opportunity.
- To engage the HBLB around the fixture programme to identify prize money requirements.
The BHA has assured stakeholders that it is planning towards a resumption on May 1, with Flat racing expected to return first to minimise demands on the emergency services. National Hunt racing could resume initially with jumpers' bumpers.
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