THEY’RE OFF!
Grand National falls at the final hurdle
THE Grand National was last night dramatically called off after new government restrictions to fight the spread of the coronavirus made it impossible to stage the Aintree showpiece on April 4. The Jockey Club and Aintree officials were working towards running the most watched race in Britain behind closed doors, either as a stand-alone event or as part of a day of races cherry-picked from the scheduled three-day meeting. But all that changed after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for a stop to ‘non-essential contact’ and ‘unnecessary travel’. Now the rest of horse racing is set to follow suit, despite plans to hold meetings behind closed doors. It follows the decision yesterday to end football at all levels, and by rugby union and rugby league to suspend their seasons. The Grand National was
doomed as soon as it was announced that emergency services are to be withdrawn from supporting mass gatherings. As racing is a sport with a degree of risk to jockeys and their mounts, no meeting can be staged in Britain without two ambulances on site and significant medical and veterinary support. It is the first time since 1993 — when there were two chaotic false starts — that the National won’t take place. Sandy Dudgeon, senior steward of The Jockey Club, said: ‘The Randox Health Grand National Festival was just three weeks away and it’s very clear to us it will not be possible for the event to take place. Public health must come first. ‘We were working on a plan to stage the Grand National behind closed doors given its importance to the racing industry and beyond, but following the new government measures to help to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, this is not a viable option. ‘I know this is hugely disappointing news but very sadly these are exceptional times and this is the responsible thing to do.’
This season’s race was hugely anticipated, with Gordon Elliott-trained Tiger Roll attempting to become the first horse since Red Rum in the 1970s to win the £1million race three times and the first horse to win the race in three consecutive years. The Prime Minister’s comments also threw into doubt the viability of the British Horseracing Authority’s plan to keep running the sport behind closed doors, starting with today’s meetings at Taunton and Wetherby. Officials in the sport were trying to decide late last night whether they could feasibly race on. Kelso became the first racecourse in Britain to go spectator-free yesterday as it abided by restrictions imposed by the Scottish Government.
THE BHA’s head office in High Holborn, London, which is also the Jockey Club’s HQ in London, was closed due to a small number of office-based BHA employees self-isolating having experienced mild symptoms that could ‘potentially be consistent with coronavirus’.
THOROUGHBRED and trotting racing in France, which has been operating behind closed doors, was shut down completely until April 15.