Irish crowds capped at 500
CROWD attendance at racecourses across the world has become a hot topic, with many racing jurisdictions warning that racing behind closed doors or with limited spectators is not sustainable.
In Ireland, crowds at racecourses are set to be limited to a maximum of 500 for the next six months. Horse Racing Ireland chief executive Brian Kavanagh described this as a “real concern” for the sport and tracks in particular.
Kavanagh said 500 is not a sustainable number for many racecourses that have already gone six months without a paying attendance.
“It’s a real concern. Racecourses can survive one shock, but if you say to a track that you’ll lose a big festival meeting for a second time that creates a real problem.”
Meanwhile in the UK, British racing received a boost this week with the news that next week’s three-day spectator pilot at Newmarket received the green light.
The racecourse’s safety advisory group successfully convinced local authorities that appropriate measures were in place for the 1,000 racegoers-a-day experiment to go ahead.
After the test event at Goodwood was lost at the 11th hour and crowds at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting were scrapped after only a day, Newmarket officials were fearful their pilot event for the Cambridgeshire meeting from September 24-26 could also be lost.
Amy Starkey, regional director for Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “We’re pleased to be working closely with local authorities to stage a limited spectator trial at the Rowley Mile over the course of the Cambridgeshire meeting.
“The racecourse is a vast, predominantly outdoor environment that could safely space out several thousand people, not just the maximum 1,000 who will be in attendance with stringent health and safety measures in place.”
In Hong Kong racegoers will be permitted at Sha Tin this Saturday as the Hong Kong Jockey Club received the green light from government for crowds to return ahead of schedule.
Racing has largely been conducted behind closed doors since the coronavirus pandemic first hit Hong Kong towards the end of January, but three meetings at Sha Tin (Sept. 20, 27, and Oct. 1) and one at Happy Valley (Sept. 23) will have some sort of spectator presence with groups of four allowed to make advanced table bookings.
The HKJC, however, did not specify how many racegoers will be admitted.
In the US, Keeneland announced that its Oct. 2-24 meeting will be closed to the public.
Situated in Lexington, Kentucky, the race meetings at Keeneland in the spring and fall are some of the most well attended of any North American racetrack, with the daily average attendance last year 15,449. – sportingpost, bloodhorse.com