Written by Paul Vettise
Cover image by Vince Caligiuri courtesy of AAP Photos
Racing Victoria chief executive Giles Thompson is hoping for a clearer picture by June before announcing Melbourne spring carnival plans.
RV has begun looking at different scenarios with only a remote chance crowds will be allowed back at sporting events by the end of the year.
"We don't need to make a decision on those things until June at the earliest and that's still six weeks away," Thompson told RSN927.
"Six weeks ago was Super Saturday and the Women's T20 World Cup and how much the world has changed since and how it will continue to change. We're happy to let time pass, but keep a view on it."
Giles Thompson
Thompson said if there was no improvement in the economic outlook, prizemoney cuts were likely for the carnival and indicated June would be the earliest a funding decision would be made.
"We're not blind to the fact our revenues are suffering and that the broader economy is also suffering," he said. "There is also a precedent that The Championships a couple of weeks ago halved their prizemoney for feature races.
"It is on the table, but there is time for a decision as well as having plenty of discussion about it. Again I think that is a decision for around June."
Draft calendar released
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) has released a proposed calendar for August through to early November to give owners, trainers and racing participants some certainty for the next six months.
This follows the RITA announcement for consultation of the revised racing calendar for the balance of the 2019/20 racing year earlier on Tuesday, which included the month of July for Thoroughbred Racing.
“We acknowledge that the situation in the national fight against COVID-19 is changing rapidly, and accordingly final decisions about the program of racing for August-November will be made by early July,” NZTR said in a statement.
Crowd at Ellerslie
“We are targeting a return to racing from July 1 as long as we can do this safely and in accordance with the strict Government and public health obligations.
“The proposed calendar remains subject to final approval by the RITA Dates Committee, following the usual consultation processes. We can’t confirm industry funding or stakes levels until we get more information from RITA on its 2020/21 budget.
“We felt it was important that the industry get some draft racing dates so we can start getting horses ready for racing.
“We felt it was important that the industry get some draft racing dates so we can start getting horses ready for racing. " - NZTR Statement
“These are extreme circumstances and it is a difficult time for everyone in racing. Every Club, every venue, every trainer and every owner has been impacted in some significant form.”
One major change to spring racing is that the G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas and G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas could be transferred north for next season.
“We would like to acknowledge those clubs which could be adversely impacted, including the Canterbury Jockey Club,” NZTR said.
“While retaining their three-day New Zealand Cup Meeting, it is proposed in the indicative calendar that the Guineas races could be transferred North for the 2020/21 season only, depending on the NZTR Board’s assessment of the position in early July.”
Latest from the UK
Cheltenham defended
Courtesy of TDN Europe
Britain's Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has defended his decision to allow the four-day Cheltenham Festival days before racing was shut down because of the coronavirus crisis.
Around 250,000 people attended last month's famous jumps meeting with additional hygiene measures in place.
Cheltenham crowd | Image courtesy of Racing Post
Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Dowden was accused by presenter Piers Morgan of "actively encouraging" people to attend Cheltenham and other events such as the Liverpool versus Atletico Madrid football match ahead of the government's decision in late March to ban them.
"The scientific evidence we were being given was that, at a mass gathering, the threat at a mass gathering relates to the people who immediately surround you - the people in front of you and behind you," Dowden said.
"The risk at mass gatherings was no greater or less than it would have been in pubs or restaurants, and the advice at that point was that we did not need to ban mass gatherings.
"The risk at mass gatherings was no greater or less than it would have been in pubs or restaurants, and the advice at that point was that we did not need to ban mass gatherings." - Oliver Dowden
"As the situation developed, the scientific advice changed and we changed our guidance off the back of it, but mass gatherings are not different to any of those other events I described and at the appropriate moment we took the decision to close pubs, to close restaurants."
The decision to go ahead with the Festival subsequently attracted criticism, but British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nick Rust has underlined the meeting had taken place in conjunction with government advice at the time.
Impact survey
The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) has launched a survey to assess the immediate impact on the British Thoroughbred breeding industry brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is intended that the TBA will carry out a further survey of breeders’ activities as the situation progresses in order to formulate a strategy to support the British breeding industry.
