St Leger moved to Sunday after Saturday meetings in Britain cancelled

The BHA has announced that Saturday's racing in Britain will be cancelled as a mark of respect following the death of the Queen, with key races including the St Leger featuring in a revised programme on Sunday.

The new nine-race card at Doncaster will also include the Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes and Doncaster Cup from Friday's cancelled card, while the Champagne and Park Stakes will also be run on Sunday. ITV4 will broadcast five of the races.

The St Leger is the oldest of the five Classics in British racing and Dunfermline's victory in the race in the Silver Jubilee year of 1977 is considered one of the Queen's most memorable winners.

In addition to Doncaster, five other meetings were due to take place in Britain on Saturday, namely at Chester, which was also set to feature on ITV, Ffos Las, Lingfield, Chelmsford and Musselburgh.

Sunday's fixture at Musselburgh will not go ahead as a show of respect with the Queen's body lying in rest in Edinburgh. The meeting at Chepstow on Sunday will take place.

A statement from the BHA said decisions would be made "in due course" regarding how other key dates in the racing calendar could be impacted during the mourning period, in view of the special relationship the Queen had with racing.

King Charles III declared a royal mourning period is to be observed from Friday until seven days after the Queen's funeral, for which a date has yet to be confirmed. He is to address the nation at 6pm this evening.

Sunday's racecard at Doncaster

12.30 Coral Champagne Stakes Group 2, 7f
1.00 Cazoo Handicap Stakes 6½f
1.35 Cazoo Flying Childers Stakes Group 2, 5f
2.10 Coral Portland Handicap 5½f
2.45 Coral Doncaster Cup Stakes Group 2, 2m2f
3.20 Cazoo Park Stakes Group 2, 7f
3.55 Cazoo St Leger Stakes Group 1, 1m6½f
4.30 P J Towey Construction Handicap 1m
5.05 Coral Mallard Handicap Stakes 1m6½f

Julie Harrington, chief executive of the BHA, said: “Her Majesty the Queen’s affinity and bond with British racing was enduring and unique, and a number of our sport’s participants have a close, direct relationship with her. It is out of respect for this, and in sympathy with her family including King Charles III, that the sport has taken the decision to continue our suspension of fixtures into Saturday.

“The return of racing on Sunday will see the running of the Cazoo St Leger, one of Britain’s five Classic races and a race which the Queen won with her filly Dunfermline in 1977. This will also provide an opportunity for the sport and its supporters to pay its respects to Her Majesty, for the contribution which she has made to the sport to be marked, and for racing to express its deep gratitude to her and sympathies to her family.”

Flags will fly at half-mast, jockeys will wear black armbands and a period of silence will be held before racing.

Original declarations made from Friday and Saturday's card will stand but jockey bookings for the transferred races have been reopened until 2pm.

Britain's betting shops, which were closed on Friday following news of the Queen's death, are expected to open on Saturday.

Other major sporting events did not take place on Friday including the Test cricket match between England and South Africa and the PGA championship at Wentworth. The Premier League postponed all matches this weekend.

According to reports, in a meeting on Friday morning the government said it was up to sports to decide whether the weekend's events could go ahead.

King's Lynn, the Queen's only horse entered over the weekend, was not declared on Friday morning. He was a 20-1 shot for the Flying Five Stakes on the second day of Irish Champions Weekend at the Curragh on Sunday.