Ed Chamberlin: 'A dismal week but we need to get racing on the front foot'

Ed Chamberlin has underlined the increasingly important role ITV Racing has to play in providing a window to the sport following news spectators might not be allowed to return to British racecourses for six months.

It had been hoped the phased reintroduction of crowds would begin from October 1 after pilot events at Doncaster and Warwick, but the plan was scrapped by the government on Tuesday as part of several restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The sport has suffered a major blow, but ITV Racing lead presenter Chamberlin intends to focus on the next steps when the broadcaster's cameras head to Newmarket for the opening day of the Cambridgeshire meeting on Thursday, and to Pontefract, which makes a welcome appearance on terrestrial television with two races.