Joint-hottest summer on record contributed to drop in field sizes in Britain

The encouraging trends in British racing in terms of field sizes earlier this year were reversed in the third quarter of 2018, according to figures compiled by the Racing Post.

The hot, dry summer – the United Kingdom's joint-hottest on record according to the Met Office – appears likely to have contributed to the fall in numbers.

In the previous quarter the average field size on the Flat was 9.37, the highest it had been for the equivalent period since 2012, and 9.02 for the jumps – the first time since 2013 that the average for the second quarter was more than nine. The overall figure of 9.26 was also the best for five years.