Fakenham set for morning inspection on Monday with freezing weather expected

An inspection will be held at Fakenham at 7am for Monday's jumps fixture but clerk of the course David Hunter is not anticipating it will force the meeting off.

Temperatures are forecast to drop to -1C overnight and the inspection will be held as a precaution in case conditions get colder. There was no frost on the track on Sunday, with the ground good to soft, soft in places for the six-race card beginning at 1.10.

Hunter said: "I'm pretty sure we'll be okay but experience tells me you should never leave anything to chance, so we'll inspect in case it's colder than anticipated.

"We're forecast for -1C but it might not even reach that. It's precautionary and if we're all ready to go before 7am I'll make sure people know. There's no frost anywhere at the moment."

Tenth anniversary dinner for the Jessica Bethell Charitable Foundation at York

The Jessica Bethell Charitable Foundation is to host a landmark tenth anniversary dinner on the eve of the Dante meeting at York on May 10.

The guest speaker this year is to be Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, who is the director of the successful Oxford Vaccine Group at the University Of Oxford. Pollard received a knighthood in the Queen’s honours list last year in recognition of his part in public services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He was behind the clinical trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine which led to it being authorised in over 175 countries and over two billion doses being administered worldwide by the end of 2021.

The dinner will as usual be raising funds for Meningitis Research and there is also to be a bulletin on the progression of Racing Welfare House in Middleham which the Foundation has previously supported.

Tickets priced £100 are available from or on 07407 295905.

Scottish Racing allocated £265,000 in financial support following restrictions

Scottish Racing has been allocated £265,000 in financial support by the Scottish government to offset the effect of recent crowd restrictions.

The Omicron outbreak meant a limit of 500 was introduced on outdoor crowds, and the funding is set to support up to 75 per cent of losses. Outdoor attendance restrictions are set to be lifted on January 17.

Scottish Racing issued the following statement: "We are grateful that the Scottish Government has recognised the financial impact experienced by racecourses across Scotland following the restrictions on spectator numbers, by offering a grant of £265k to Scottish Racing.

"This funding will help those affected racecourses to recoup some of the losses incurred since 26th December and will aid the economic recovery of racing’s suppliers and participants as we continue to navigate a way through the continuing pandemic together."

Former jockey Atkins awarded MBE

Ron Atkins, a prominent jockey in the 1970s, was awarded an MBE for services to racing at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.

A jockey for 26 years, Atkins was later vice-president of the Professional Jockeys Association and set up the PJA pension fund in 1984. He also worked as a safety officer on racecourses, where he campaigned for safer helmets, body protectors and the removal of concrete posts.

He now spends his time volunteering for the Injured Jockeys Fund and working at various racecourses.

Feed company supports grooms' canteen at Naas

Equine feed and supplements business ARKequine has offered its support to racing's unsung heroes by subsidising the grooms' canteen at Naas.

Irish Stable Staff Association chairman Bernard Caldwell and Naas general manager Eamonn McEvoy welcomed the move, which sees ARKequine back the grooms' canteen on 18 of the 20 meetings at the Kildare venue this year.

Existing race sponsors will sponsor the facility at the other two fixtures.

McEvoy said: "We are thrilled to partner with ARKequine. Subsidising the grooms' canteen shows the valued support to our industry’s key stakeholders."

Naas: hosts 20 fixtures throughout 2022Credit: Patrick McCann

Bernard Caldwell added: "This is a wonderful acknowledgment of all stable staff who are the backbone of the industry."

ARKequine offers veterinary-formulated, high-performance nutritional supplements, feed and horse care products, catering for a wide variety of horses.

The firm's equine nutritional manager Kirsty McCann said: "It is important to acknowledge all those involved in getting a horse to the track and, while we appreciate products like ours play a key role, it is the stable staff who look after these animals who truly make the difference.

"By subsidising the grooms' canteen for 2022, it is our way of saying thank you to those key personnel and we are very grateful to the team at Naas for allowing us this great opportunity."

Newtown Anner Stud revealed as new sponsors of quality Curragh Group 3 event

Newtown Anner Stud has become the new sponsor of the Group 3 Flame Of Tara Stakes at the Curragh in August.

A deal to back the quality race for two-year-old fillies was revealed by the track on Tuesday, with the race now set to be known as the Newtown Anner Stud Stakes on August 27.

Newtown Anner Stud, owned by the Regan family and whose flagbearer is the stallion Fascinating Rock, is recognised as a highly prominent international operation and has horses in training with Johnny Murtagh, Dermot Weld, Ger Lyons, Joseph O’Brien, Jessica Harrington and Tony Martin.

Fascinating Rock: flagbearer for the Newtown Anner StudCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Maurice Regan said: "Newtown Anner is delighted to partner with the Curragh in sponsoring this prestigious race, past winners of which have gone on to be history makers.

"We know that record will continue for many years to come and hope that 2022 will be the year that returns us all to some sort of normality."

Curragh racing and sponsorship manager Evan Arkwright said: "We are very grateful to the Regan Family for supporting the Curragh through the sponsorship of this prestigious race, which has an impressive roll of honour, including previous winners Cayenne Pepper and Sea Of Grace.

"We greatly look forward to working with Maurice and his team to further enhance the race as one of leading contests for juvenile fillies in the Irish racing calendar."

The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday