Return to racing next month is target
POINT-TO-POINT organisers in Devon and Cornwall have laid out their plans for the anticipated return of racing after lockdown.
Pointing, the grass-roots of National Hunt, ground to an abrupt halt at the start of this month after the Point-toPoint Authority (PPA) pressed pause on the 2020-21 season, following the announcement of the third national lockdown and soaring coronavirus rates.
Peter Wright, chief executive of the PPA, which acts as the sport’s governing body, has already signalled his intentions to restart racing on the weekend of February 20-21, based on the Government’s tier review on February 10.
At a regional level, the Devon and Cornwall Point-to-Point Secretaries Association says it is hoping to bring the 2020-21 campaign back under starters’ orders in March.
In its latest update, the organisation explains that the fixtures programme is “provisionally being rescheduled”, with course-building teams at Buckfastleigh near Plymouth, Cherrybrook and Kilworthy near Tavistock, and Trebudannon near Newquay “standing by” to erect the fences at short notice and run their meetings between mid-March and April, if permitted.
“After that, the fixture schedule will continue as normal,” the statement adds.
As a result of the latest lockdown, the Tiverton Foxhounds at Chipley Park (January 24) and Western Hunt at the Royal Cornwall Showground (February 7) have had to abandon their meetings, while the North Cornwall Hunt had already been forced to cancel its fixture planned for January 10 due to a lack of medical cover.
Only two meetings have taken place in the Devon and Cornwall area so far,
ATHWENNA IRONS the first being the East Devon Hunt’s season-opener at Bishop’s Court near Ottery St Mary on October 24, followed by the Cornwall Club at the Royal Cornwall Showground on December 6.
The statement continues: “The likelihood is that no crowds or owners will be allowed during the March and early April period and race meetings will be run under strict Covid-19 regulations.
“The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is supporting these fixtures with an enhanced grant if they are allowed to run and the sport’s racing authority is anxious to provide a limited programme throughout the country as soon as possible.”
Nationwide, the Devon and Cornwall area is one of pointing’s most popular circuits, hosting a busy calender of 25 fixtures from October through to June with 175 races, around 300 horses and 35 jockeys competing in open, conditional and maiden races.
The statement concludes: “Trainers are going through a period of uncertainty with horses already approaching peak racing condition now having to be ‘let down’, and when the season restarts they will quickly need to build up to racing fitness again.”
Should racing be able to resume, Devon and Cornwall Point-to-Point Secretaries Association will have its live-streaming team, including renowned horse racing broadcaster Cornelius Lysaght, on-course to relay all the action to racegoers at home, with the service accessible at the website www.pointingdc.co.uk or the Devon and Cornwall Point-to-Point Area Facebook page at a pay-per-view cost of £10 per fixture. Bets can also be placed over the phone to a small team of bookmakers, with a deposit.