(Newswire.net — June 7, 2020) — It’s horse racing season and the big question of the day is will the 5 classic races go off, and how during the times of the pandemic?
There are five classic horse races in Great Britain annually, the 1,000 Guinness Stakes, the 2,000 Guinness Stakes run in Newmarket, the Epsom Oaks, and Epsom Derby run at Epsom Downs and the St. Leger Stakes held in Doncaster.
It seems likely that both the Guinness 1,000 and 2,000 will not take place this year until June according to the British Horseracing Authority, and that’s under the assumption that the races would go on besides closed doors, meaning no spectators.
As the BHA said in a letter to 600 trainers, not all locations could accommodate closed-door racing, which means that if the Guinness 1,000 and 2,000 races take place, they would be most likely moved to Epsom Downs.
Assuming that the British government sees fit to open up lockdown requirements, this would mean that the Epsom Oaks and Epsom Derby would be pushed back to July.
So horse racing fans can start watching out for horse racing picks from the experts on these races soon, and resubscribing to their favorite racing websites for tips on how to bet on horses.
However, it may be September 12 when the St.Leger Stakes takes place that there is a chance fans can see live horse racing.
Will the race go on as scheduled but behind closed doors? Yes, definitely, unless there is some kind of blowback from the previous four races. The BHA is determined to continue horse racing, although the stakes will probably be much smaller.
But will the general public be able to witness the race live? Even though British Authorities are watching with care the opening of other European economies.
There are definite signs the COVID-19 virus is flattening in Great Britain, there are still 4,000 people a day being diagnosed with COVID-19, and over 300 people per day dying in Great Britain from the disease.
The government has promised by May 4 to reveal a plan for opening up the country, but until new cases drop from 4,000 a day to less than 100, and deaths drop to around 20 or 30 a day, it seems unlikely that the Government will open up any kind of public sporting events, whether horse racing, football or boxing until there has been universal testing in Great Britain or that there is a vaccine.
Most medical officials caution that an actual vaccine maybe 18 months away at best. Meanwhile, this week, the Government plans to send 100,000 test kits in the mail.
The BBC claims that so far only about 800,000 of Britain’s 66 million people have been tested for COVID-19.