No crowds for start of pointing
POINT-TO-POINT organisers in Devon and Cornwall will be trailblazers for a brand new live streaming service when the 2020-21 season gets underway in the region next month.
After the sport’s 2019-20 campaign was cut short by coronavirus in March, the East Devon Hunt will bring the action back under starter’s orders at Bishop’s Court near Ottery St Mary on Saturday, October 24.
With the meeting set to take place behind closed doors, adhering to the current social gathering rules and in line with National Hunt racing, the Devon and Cornwall Point-to-Point Secretaries Association has said it will be live streaming the racing through social media direct to race goers’ homes.
Announcing the initiative, Frank Yeo, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Point-to-Point Secretaries Association, said: “It is hoped this new venture will be able to bring the atmosphere and excitement of pointto-point racing to everyone at home.”
Internationally known racing broadcaster, Cornelius Lysaght, will head up the presenting team and with the approval of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and the Point-to-Point Authority (PPA), Devon and Cornwall is set to become the first pointing area in the UK to broadcast all of their 25 meetings for the coming season.
“We are delighted that Cornelius Lysaght, with nearly 30 years’ worth of experience as a BBC horse racing correspondent, will be taking on the role of lead presenter,” Mr Yeo added.
The live streaming programme will include coverage of all the races on the card, plus pre-race and post-race information, interviews and analysis. The long-established Westcountry Videos team will be operating two cameras at each meeting.
The pioneering service has been made possible thanks to a £10,000 financial support package from one of the sport’s stalwart supporters, George Welch, director of the Totnes and Bridgetown Races Company.
As well as covering the purchase of live streaming equipment, the grant will be used to fund twelve £500 open races at meetings across the Devon and Cornwall area, and offset the cost of providing contactless bank card readers instead of cash for entrance gates - a new requirement for point-to-pointing racing in the new coronavirus environment.
Mr Yeo continued: “We are very grateful to all those who have helped us get this off the ground, especially the Totnes and Bridgetown Races
Company, whose generous £10,000 will also boost race sponsorship in these difficult times.”
In its latest newsletter update, the PPA confirmed that point-to-point racing will be operating under ‘level four’ restrictions for the foreseeable future, which will include specific zones for participants and owners, pre-registration to attend fixtures and all zones having their own loos, food stands and bookmakers.