THERE will be no professional sport until at least next month, even behind closed doors.
The news comes as a bitter blow to racing and the BHA, who had hoped to make a comeback in the coming weeks.
Best-case scenario plans outlined by the racing regulator had Group races and Classic trials starting as soon as May 23, with a two week fixture list pencilled in to start when the government gave the green light.
After Boris Johnson’s speech on Sunday, the government published a 50 page document today that outlined the three step approach to taking the country out of lockdown.
Professional sport is part of the second phase and states, ‘permitting cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact.’
This will not be until June 1 at the earliest and is subject to change depending on the health of the nation.
The BHA – who were due to make a statement today anyway – were not aware of this latest development and have met with the resumption group on Monday to discuss their options.
It’s not thought that the sport will try and make its case for an earlier start as has been the case in some jurisdictions.
Before the update, the BHA said: “Industry leaders are meeting to discuss the available information and will issue an initial response later today.
“The BHA is continuing to liaise with Government regarding yesterday’s address, and we expect further guidance this afternoon and tomorrow.
“In the meantime we continue to plan for the resumption of racing, alongside industry colleagues.”
Racing has not taken place in Britain since the meetings at Wetherby and Taunton on March 17, which were both held behind closed doors. Fixtures were initially suspended until the end of April, before that was extended to an unspecified date.
More to follow…
