The Grand National was dramatically called off on Monday night after new Government restrictions to fight the spread of coronavirus made it impossible to stage the Aintree showpiece on April 4.
The Jockey Club and Aintree officials were working towards running the most watched race in Britain behind closed doors, either as a stand-alone race or as part of a race-day of races cherry-picked from the scheduled three-day meeting.
But all that changed after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for a stop to ‘non-essential contact’ and unnecessary travel’.
The Grand National has been cancelled and will not take place on April 4 due to coronavirus
Now the rest of horse racing is set to follow suit despite plans to hold meetings behind closed doors. It follows the decision to end football at all levels by rugby union and rugby league to suspend their seasons.
The National was doomed when it was announced that emergency services are to be withdrawn from supporting mass gatherings.
With racing a sport with a degree of risk to jockeys and their mounts, no race meeting can be staged in Britain without two ambulances on site and with significant medical and veterinary support.
Sandy Dudgeon, senior steward of The Jockey Club, said: ‘The Randox Health Grand National Festival was just three weeks away and it’s very clear to us it will not be possible for the event to take place. Public health must come first.
‘We were working on a plan to stage the Grand National behind closed doors given its importance to the racing industry and beyond, but following the new Government measures confirmed this evening to help to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, this is not a viable option.
‘I know this is hugely disappointing news for the many people who work in our sport and the many millions who were looking forward to this year’s event, but very sadly these are exceptional times and this is the responsible thing to do.’
This season’s race was hugely anticipated with Gordon Ellliott-trained Tiger Roll attempting to become the first horse since Red Rum in the 1970s to win the £1million race three times and the first horse to win the race in three consecutive years.
Gordon Ellliott-trained Tiger Roll attempting to become the first horse since Red Rum in the 1970s to win the £1million race three times and the first to win in three consecutive years
The Prime Minister’s comments have also thrown into the doubt the viability of the British Racehorse Authority’s plan to keep running the sport of racing behind closed doors, starting with today’s meetings at Taunton and Wetherby.
Officials in the sport were trying to decide late last night whether they could feasibly race as coronavirus restrictions tighten.
Kelso became the first racecourse in Britain to race spectator-free yesterday as it abided by restrictions imposed by the Scottish Government.
They were extended across the Great Britain on a day when:
- The BHA’s head office in High Holborn, London, which is also the Jockey Club’s HQ in London, was closed due to ‘a small number of office-based BHA employees self-isolating having experienced mild symptoms that could potentially be consistent with coronavirus’.
- Thoroughbred and Trotting Racing in France, which has been operating behind closed doors, was shut down completely from today (Tuesday) until April 15.
- The popular annual Peter O’Sullevan Lambourn Charity Open Day on Good Friday (April 10), which attracts thousands of racing fans to over 25 stables in the Berkshire training centre, was cancelled.
- Northamptonshire-based Weatherbys, racing’s secretariat who handle all race entries, unveiled plans to ‘activate a secondary site’ with 50 members of staff kept separate from the rest of their workforce to try to ensure continued administration of the sport as Covid-19 spreads.
Restrictions on attending race meetings announced by the Racing Steering Group, which consists of the BHA, Racecourse Association and representatives of the participants, were initially set to extend until the end of March.
But not all scheduled meetings were certain to take place in this period with the BHA chief executive Nick Rust conceding decisions would be influenced by ‘availability of staff and the practicalities of staging events with no income from spectators’.
Mindful that some members of the public may question the decision to keep the sport operating at a time when other major sports have shut down, officials have stressed that the sport has continued to observe the government’s request for a proportionate response that takes into account public health and the impact on jobs and businesses.
Rust said: ‘Racecourses and racing yards are embedded in their local communities and we are acutely aware of our responsibilities to protect public health.
‘The restrictions we are putting in place to close racing to spectators and limit attendees will reduce demand on public services.
‘We also have a range of measures in place designed in response to the government’s guidance on public health and we will continue to update these as appropriate.
‘We acknowledge that today’s decision will also impact on local businesses, especially hotels and restaurants, who are struggling at this time.
‘We are following the government’s advice to strike a balance between protecting public health and maintaining business activity and will continue to do so. We thank our customers and staff for their support.’ There are 17 meetings scheduled between today and Saturday. Officials at Newbury said that plans to stage the two-day meeting on Friday and Saturday were underway with Saturday’s meeting being the base for ITV coverage.
There are four other meetings on Saturday at Bangor-on-Dee, Lingfield, Kelso and Southwell.
Arena Racing Company (ARC), which operates 16 British racecourses, confirmed that intended staging all its meetings behind closed doors until the end of March and then expects restrictions to be extended further into the year.
ARC will maintain prizemoney levels confirm that prize money levels for the next seven days but Chief Executive Martin Cruddace warned this will have to be reviewed, adding: ‘As we move into the spring and summer months, and racecourses rely much more heavily on attendance income, it is a near certainty that this period will have a drastic impact on the viability of a large number of fixtures.
‘It is inevitable that we will have to work closely with, and rely upon, the support of our valued partners at the Levy Board and the betting industry to maintain current fixture levels.’ Racing was one of the few sports that operated last weekend with almost 10,000 people at Uttoxeter for the Midland National meeting and 2,200 at Kempton. Races form both meetings were shown on ITV.
With no top level football to bet on, bookmakers reported an upturn in betting on racing.
Simon Clare of Coral said: ‘There was an uptick in racing turnover because of the lack of opportunities to bet on football and other sports.
‘That shows the value of racing keeping its show on the road when there is no other sport to watch if it can feasibly do so within health and safety requirements.’