Horse racing bosses call a halt to all meetings
THE British Horseracing Authority has confirmed that all horseracing in Britain will be suspended with effect from today.
Two race meetings at Wetherby and Taunton took places yesterday, but race meetings will cease up to the end of April. The decision will be kept under constant review.
The formal decision was taken by Board of the British Horseracing Authority based on the statements made by the government on Monday and after consultation with senior industry leaders. Medical Advisers to the RCA and the BHA, who have been advising an industry group on the response to the crisis, have also been consulted.
Nick Rust, the Chief Executive of the BHA, said: “This is a national emergency the like of which most of us have never seen before. We’re a sport that is proud of its connection to rural communities and to the local businesses that support our industry. But our first duty is to the health of the public, our customers and to racing industry participants and staff so we have decided to suspend racing following the government’s latest advice.
“Racing is a family and I know we will pull together over the coming days, weeks and months and support each other. By stopping racing, we can free up medical resources, doctors and ambulances, be they private sector or NHS, to assist in the national effort to fight this virus. And we can support racing industry participants and staff as they face up to the personal challenges ahead and care for their own families.
“There will be difficult months ahead for many of us. We need to focus now on ensuring that we can continue to look after our horses as the virus affects the thousands of participants and staff who dedicate their lives to caring for animals. We need to do what we can to support businesses inside and outside racing and the many people whose livelihoods depend upon this £4 billion industry.
“We are in constant contact with government which understands the very significant consequences of this decision for jobs and businesses. We will work with them to do our best to manage the impact.
“Racing leaders will keep today’s decision under constant review and endeavour to keep all customers, participants, staff and dependent businesses informed as the situation progresses.”
The decisions followed news that this season’s Randox Grand National will not take place on April 4 because of coronavirus.
Welsh trainer Christian Williams was lining up Potters Corner for a famous double, having won the Welsh National at Chepstow over Christmas.
He tweeted: “Such a shame Potter doesn’t get chance to show everyone what we know he is capable of. We at the yard pray that everyone can stay healthy at this tough time.”