UK racing

The QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame, the first official Hall of Fame for British Flat racing honouring the champions of the sport, will be unveiled on Monday, Apr. 26, QIPCO announced on Wednesday. Marking the 10th year QIPCO has sponsored the British Champions Series which started in 2011, the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame will immortalise the modern greats of British Flat racing-both human and equine-from 1970 onward. (Click here to view a highlights reel of modern greats). New members of the Hall of Fame will...

Several UK fixtures have been moved on Saturday, Apr. 17, as a mark of respect for the funeral ceremony of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Sunday. In addition, there will be no races held between 2:45 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. that day. Both the Coral Scottish Grand National fixture and the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials have been moved from Saturday, to Sunday, Apr. 18, with the full race times finalised on Monday. Other changes to the UK racing programme are...

Crowds will not return to UK racecourses until mid-May at the earliest Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, when discussing the UK's path out of its current COVID-19 lockdown. Schools will reopen on Mar. 8, but grassroots sport will not begin prior to Mar. 29, along with larger groups being allowed to gather in parks and gardens. Johnson is planning on crowds back at sports venues no earlier than May 17. Racing has taken place behind closed doors in England since it resumed in June with the exception of a few...

Racing in the UK will continue behind closed doors, as new national lockdowns begin at midnight on Jan. 5. Cases of coronavirus are rising in both countries and their respective governments have imposed new COVID restrictions. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson cited the rising death toll in the past seven days and the new coronavirus variant that is widespread in the UK as the primary reasons for a third lockdown, which is expected to last until mid-February. The BHA confirmed that racing will continue without fans and with only essential...

British racing is continuing despite the upcoming second lockdown this Thursday, and a decision will be made on Monday to determine whether owners can watch their horses race, British Horseracing Authority Nick Rust said on Racing TV's Luck on Sunday. The lockdown begins Nov. 5 and will last for four weeks. Betting shops will be closed during the lockdown as well. "The Government has shown plenty of faith in us, and we can show what an important role racing plays in national life over the next month," said Rust on...

NEWMARKET, UK-The prevailing mood at Park Paddocks this week has been a mixture of relief and amazement at the level of trade which, across each of three Book 2 sessions, has come close to matching the record sale of 2019. Whether there is enough depth to the buying bench ultimately is questionable but there has certainly been variety and a decent amount of international participation which, in this year particularly, is remarkable. Ever since the start of the breeze-up season, the general approach from vendors has been one of pragmatism,...

Sam Hoskins, an owner, breeder, syndicate manager and ROA board member, gives us his view of how the reduced prize-money will impact racing in Britain From where we were back in the spring, to get racing back on was an incredible achievement and obviously everyone understood then that prize-money was going to be hit. Horsemen accepted that up to the point when it became clear that, despite media rights flowing, there was going to be largely no executive contribution from the majority of racecourses. The call for transparency over media...

The latest racing resumption update has been published by the British Horseracing Authority on Tuesday. Changes have been announced to the Flat handicap qualification, 2-year-old novice and maiden programme, 0-50 classified races, sire and dam restricted races, amateur programme, race planning forum, 2020 Flat Pattern Programme and a general reminder about raceday protocols. The handicap qualifications will return to their pre-COVID policy of three runs, however, with the juvenile novice and maiden programme, changes will be made combining restricted races into one race type. Until the end of the Flat...

Rewards4Racing, the industry's rewards programme, will be offering its services and expertise to all UK and Irish racecourses, the organisation announced on Wednesday. In 2019, 960,000 tickets were purchased by the reward programme's members, and data has show that they attend race meetings more frequently and spend more when they come racing. One of the tracks that has accepted the offer is Plumpton Racecourse. Racing begins again in the UK on June 1, while Irish racing kicks off on June 8 after extended coronavirus-induced breaks. "During these unprecedented times, there...

The minimum prize money amounts allowed under the Rules of Racing for the first 10 weeks of British racing have been published, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Thursday. After a £15.7 million contribution from the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB), racing's leaders have agreed to minimum values which will exceed, on average, 80% of the previously permitted minimum levels, with an emphasis of supporting prize money levels at the middle and grassroots level of the sport to retain as many owners and horses-in-training as possible. Group 1 Flat races...

The British government released its timeline for the potential resumption of sporting events on Monday, and in its Our Plan to Rebuild, cultural and sporting events conducted behind closed doors-like racing-are part of the second step of lifting the current coronavirus restrictions and would resume no earlier than June 1. The news was welcomed by British horseracing's executive committee comprised of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), the Racecourse Association, The Racehorse Owners' Association and the National Trainers Federation, who are "committed to plan for resumption on June 1st," according to...

Hollie Doyle is keeping herself in the groove to make sure she is ready for the resumption of racing--whenever that might be. Doyle, 23, is riding out every day and will be primed for a return to action once the go ahead is received on the track. "There's not a lot we can do really--we've got to keep the horses going," said the record-breaking jockey. "I'm just riding out every day and getting my exercise--at least we're all in the same position. I rode out for Archie Watson [on Monday]....