The British horse racing authorities and individuals who work in the industry were holding their on Thursday. The UK government was set to announce if racing can resume at Newcastle on Monday. The meeting will be staged behind closed doors with strict protocols in place to mitigate the threat of the transmission of the Covid-19 virus. There are 454 entries for Tuesday's card at Kempton, which shows the appetite for racing after an 11-week break due to the coronavirus. The Betfair exchange market suggests the Newcastle fixture will take place.
The main professional football leagues in England have not found a common approach. Vested interests come into play, especially with Premier League clubs that have much to gain or lose. However, in horse racing all the constituent bodies want to see a resumption of racing at the earliest possible time. The only disagreement has been over when it was safe and feasible to race again. Some owners, trainers and racecourses believe the sport could have returned sooner with very little risk. However, waiting for government approval has been the approach and that is now imminent.
The early declarations for the start of next week show the demand for racing. Flat stables have kept operating, so horses are fit and raring to go while jockeys and trainers are keen to get back in action. Racing is expected to get the go ahead for a June 1 return, but there will be no crowds and owners cannot attend. Income streams have declined and we are now looking at a different business model for the racing in the UK. The sport has lost 325 meetings since the March 17 shutdown. That comes from a schedule of 1,481 fixtures, which equates to a 22% shortfall.
Newcastle is the only planned fixture on Monday and there will be two meetings for the next four days. Newmarket will race for four days at the end of the week. The course stages the 2,000 Guineas on Saturday and the 1,000 Guineas the following day. There will be 18 meetings across seven tracks in Britain during June. The highlight is the five days of Royal Ascot (June 16-20) with the meeting's 19 Group races and major handicaps. Six races have been added to the programme, all lucrative handicaps, including consolation races for the Royal Hunt Cup Wokingham Stakes.
The 2,000 Guineas is all about Pinatubo. The horse was unbeaten last season and was rated as the best two-year-old since Frankel by the handicappers at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). The horse can be backed at a shade bigger than even money on the Betfair betting exchange. The favourite for the 1,000 Guineas at +300 is Quadrilateral, the unbeaten daughter of Frankel. However, Peaceful is a big price at +2000 to win the fillies' Classic.
The Coronation Cup will be run at Newmarket on Friday, pending racing getting the green light from the government this week. It is the first Group 1 of the season and usually takes place at the Derby meeting, which has been rearranged for the first week in July. The season could be back on track by the end of July, with Glorious Goodwood and York's Ebor meeting taking place on their usual dates. However, tracks do not expect racegoers to attend before September at the earliest.
Betting offices are set to reopen in the UK on the day before the start of Royal Ascot. Social distancing measures will affect business, but pent-up demand should see busy shops. Bets are usually settled at the starting price (SP) odds based on a sample from on-course bookmakers. With no bookies at the tracks, the Press Association will compile SPs. So the plans are in place and we eagerly await the government's OK to get the show back on the road.