Trainers welcome resumption programme but hopes for mid-May restart fall

British trainers have welcomed having a schedule for the first seven days of racing but, amid speculation around the extent to which lockdown measures will be eased when the prime minister addresses the nation on Sunday, the prospect of a May resumption remains uncertain.

No date has been announced for the intended return of racing but the resumption of racing group will next sit on Monday following an update from Boris Johnson on Sunday.

Johnson is expected to detail the next steps of Britain's lockdown but ministers have suggested dramatic changes are unlikely, with devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all choosing to make few adjustments to their current social restrictions.

This has cast doubt over the prospect of a mid-May resumption of racing in Britain – the next assessment of the lockdown would likely be on May 28 – and that has been reflected on the Betfair Exchange, where the price for a return before June 1 has drifted.

"Over the last 24 hours, the price for racing to take place on or before June 1 has been drifting markedly, from 4-5 to 6-4," said Betfair spokesman Barry Orr on Friday afternoon.

"It would appear that some customers are interpreting the reticence to relax measures in Scotland and Wales as a bellwether for any potential announcements by Boris Johnson on Sunday."

'The emphasis on handicaps seems logical'

Nonetheless, planning for Britain's return to racing continues apace, and on Thursday the BHA released a programme for the early stages of the sport's return, with meetings divided between three regions – North, South and the Midlands – set to stage a handicap-heavy programme.

"As racing people we sometimes live in our own bubble but the world is going through a difficult period," said Devon trainer Rod Millman. "We all want to get racing back but we have to do it properly.

"When it does return we're going to have to accept that it won't be quite like it was before but the emphasis on handicaps seems logical. It works for us as we've got a mixed string and plenty of juveniles.

"You need a clear date to aim at when you have a horse to compete in Pattern races but they are trained differently to handicappers, who often run themselves into form. There's a lot more of them too and I think some people may struggle to get runners in those early races."

Details of which racecourses have been selected to stage the early action have not been released, nor have any stipulations on travel.

"I hope they don't bring in a rule so you can only travel a set amount of miles as that would be problematic for me," added Millman. "I'd expect to have two-year-old runners up north, as we normally would, but like everybody else I can only really guess at this stage."

In numbers: fixture programme for the first seven days

13 meetings – 7 in the South, 4 in the North, 2 in the Midlands
104 races
75 handicaps
12 two-year-old races
17 maiden or novice races for three-year-olds or over
8 races for each meeting

The decision to stage 75 handicaps in the opening seven days was welcomed by Roger Fell, who had 505 runners in those races last year.

He has endeavoured to look after his owners and used a £25,000 government grant given to retail, leisure and hospitality businesses to reduce training fees for his owners by £5 a day for three months.

"We're a handicapping yard. That's how we make our money so the new schedule is brilliant for us," said Fell. "It will help us out a great deal and we've got plenty lined up for the return of racing."

Ruth Carr, who like Fell trains in North Yorkshire, has started to bring horses back into training after shutting down her stable in March and turning out all 55 horses to cut costs for her owners.

The trainer believes it makes sense to prioritise handicaps given they ordinarily dominate the racing calendar but said she would not be in a position to send out runners until the return date becomes clearer.

"We're bringing some back into work next week," said Carr. "It really depends on what each individual owner thinks of our situation and everybody has a view on when racing may or may not resume.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of horses ready to run in handicaps. Whether we have runners will depend on when racing returns. If it is a month or five weeks then we'll have some horses ready.

"I haven't got any horses ready to run in the short term. We've got a lot of older handicappers who know their job and definitely won't have been harmed by having a mini break in the sunshine.

"We're just going to have to wait and see what Mr Johnson says on Sunday and how the resumption of racing group react the following day. Hopefully we'll all have a far better idea then."

Read more:

Handicaps dominate as schedule for first week of resumption is made public

HRI breaks silence by announcing proposal to resume racing earlier than June 29

Jockey Club outlines 'exclusion zone' plan to ensure Derby can be run at Epsom

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