Here's hoping for a better 2021 - and Al Boum Photo means it starts in style

New Year’s Day is a time for both reflection and looking ahead. Out with the old and in with the new. If only it could be that simple.

While the miracle of multiple vaccines to fight Covid-19 means the horrors of 2020 may eventually become a distant memory, 2021 begins with the world still in the throes of the pandemic.

Racing kicks off on January 1 with the sad sight of no spectators at tracks once again, and Cheltenham, traditionally home to a huge, enthusiastic crowd for the first day of a new year, will not even have horses this time after an 85mm deluge over the past week – making a total of 145mm of rainfall in December – rendered the track unraceable.