Get in, race, get out – how the sport will look behind closed doors
Marcus Armytage talks to three of the people who pay the bills but will not be included in sport’s return
No saunas, no showers, no catering, no overnight accommodation for horses or staff, 72-hour declarations, an isolation area for anyone taken ill, the use of masks, jockeys debriefing trainers by telephone, all overseen by a social-distancing officer – this will be racing behind closed doors.
Nine days in advance of the sport’s intended resumption on June 1, the British Horseracing Authority published a 33-page guide yesterday to the rules for racing behind closed doors.
Apart from officials and the personnel required to run a race day, numbers will be restricted to one lad per horse, one trainer or his representative, a travelling head lad and a horsebox driver (although those roles are often combined). Only jockeys booked to ride – observing the two-metre socialdistancing rules within the changing room – can attend, along with one broadcaster, two journalists and two photographers. Owners are excluded.
Even the very limited number of people allowed on a racecourse will have to pass a three-step health check.
Trainers have been requested not to send unruly or difficult horses, particularly if they are bad loaders at the stalls – a maximum of two stall handlers will be allowed to push a horse in.
The BHA says the background risk is low because racing is a non-contact sport, takes place outdoors and most attendees are from rural areas.
‘It is a sport of peaks and troughs. I have had a lot of peaks. We will grin and bear it’
Racehorse owners on the Flat have been paying training fees and, essentially, keeping trainers and their staff going for two months now without a chance of running their horses. When racing does return on June 1 – providing the Government gives the go-ahead for sports behind closed doors – owners will not be among the small number of people allowed to attend meetings.
On top of that any prize-money they win will be approximately half what it would have been before the virus struck. But the vast majority are just glad to have racing back – even without them.
Anthony Oppenheimer
Owner-breeder of 2015 Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Golden Horn. He expects to run 18 to 20 horses, split between five trainers, during the year.
Oppenheimer runs one of the most successful medium-sized ownerbreeder operations in Europe, and the key for him is to get his fillies out to find out how good they are and if they are worth breeding from.
As a shareholder in his Derby winner, Golden Horn, at stud, this is also a critical season for the stallion.
“Getting racing back on is incredibly important for r the staff, it makes such a big difference for them,” Oppenheimer said. “Star Catcher, my best filly, was not going to run until the second half of the season anyway, as there are very few races for her at this time of f year, so it has made no difference. ce.
“I’ll watch on television. . I’d usually watch about two-thirds hirds of my runners on television, the great thing is you can usually ally see a race in more detail anyway. ay. I haven’t been to the stud [in Newmarket] for about 10 weeks and hopefully I’ll be able to see the horses at their the stables soon. “Normally, “Norm if I’m not at the races, rac I’ll get a call from the t trainer instantl instantly the race is run, even if it’s a small race and just to say the jockey rode an a appalling race! A jockey jock has never rung me after af a race, not even Frankie [Dettori], who I know well.
“I do d think some good will come out of it [the racing shutdown]. I’ve always wanted to see the Derby run a month mo later – I think the colts will be a bit stronger stron and it might be a fairer fai race. If I was Ascot I wo would allow sponsors this year and an if they are innovative they could put a crowd noise through the loudspeakers loudspeaker to give a bit of atmosphere to those who are allowed to go.” go
Sam Hoskins
Manager of Hot Ho To Trot Racing, which has 14 ho horses spread between about 140 members, and
Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds, which has 11 horses with 16 members per horse.
“The big thing for syndicates like ours is the social aspect of racing, whether that is trainer visits, actually going racing or lunches,” Hoskins said.
“Hot To Trot had a course walk organised at Aintree, a trip to Punchestown, a visit to a major stud and we would have gone to Breakfast with the Stars before Epsom.
“Win, lose or draw we always have a drink afterwards and it is that social side, being with people who share a common interest – it’s what it is all about for a lot of our members. But nothing’s happening.
“All our members have been great about it. We prided ourselves on our communications before the lockdown but the one positive to come out of this is that we have really had to up our game.
“We’ve been doing Zoom interviews with our trainers, webinars, and have got more films of our horses from our trainers. In that respect, Australia has been light years ahead, but this has forced us to catch up.
“Even though our members can’t go they will appreciate having racing back because there’s not a lot else to do. We have three horses for Ascot: Dance Fever in the Britannia, Curious in the King’s Stand and Magical Memory in the Wokingham. If we have a winner I don’t know whether to celebrate by running laps round the garden or naked round the village.
“Obviously we’ll take the prizemoney hit on the chin. Hopefully when it starts opening up again owners will be among the first allowed to go.”
Graham Clark
Part-owner of Annecdote, winner at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood in 2013. He has shares in Lethal Talent and Broadhaven with Jonny Portman.
Clark spent more than three decades as duty manager on arrivals at Heathrow Airport, dealing with lost baggage. “I never met a happy person in 31 years,” he said. “No one was exempt from losing their luggage – in my last week I spent 45 minutes with Diana Ross.”
Possibly because of that, he sees the pointlessness of getting annoyed and is pragmatic about the lockdown. “It’s beyond the trainer’s control, they can’t do anything about it and I don’t see it being behind closed doors as a problem,” he said. “I have no issue with it.
“I’m not too bothered about the two-year-old I’m involved with being out early. Jonny will bring him out when the time is right. It’s a sport of peaks and troughs; I’ve had lots of peaks and this is one of the troughs so we’ll grin and bear it.
“The prize-money is poor anyway and it’s going to get worse, but anyone going into racing thinking they’d make a profit is deluded. Most of us do it because we enjoy it and it’s a hobby. Even if you own only a small percentage of a horse you feel a big part of it.”