HORSERACING SAYS NO TO TEST EVENT WITH FANS

RACING has declined the opportunity to stage a test event with spectators next month because there is no meeting scheduled that fits the Government’s criteria and timetable. The Racecourse Association have held lengthy talks with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport over the last few weeks, but have been unable to reach an agreement given the tight timetable for the easing of England’s lockdown and racing’s set-in-stone fixture list. The Grand National meeting at Aintree next week had been proposed, but the Government judged it to be too early as it takes place before the next nationwide easing on April 12, while the Boodles May Festival at Chester is too late, falling on May 5-7. The Government wants the initial round of test events to be completed at least a fortnight before step three of their roadmap on May 17, when it is hoped that crowds of up to 4,000 will be permitted at outdoor venues and stadiums will be able to operate at 25 per cent capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 spectators. Racing is therefore set to miss out on staging test events, but officials are lobbying Government for courses to be designated as stadiums rather than outdoor venues. Such a move would be a major boost for the sport because it would enable 10,000 spectators to attend each day of the Derby meeting at Epsom on June 4-5. There were three pilot events staged successfully at racecourses last autumn, while numerous meetings took place with spectators in attendance in December before the third national lockdown, so racing officials are confident they have sufficient Covid-secure protocols in place to begin operating immediately. The right to stage test events has generated considerable competition between sports, with cricket stakeholders particularly unhappy at missing out, as Sportsmail revealed earlier

this month.