Horsemen resisting courses' push for more meetings as fixture list up in the air

A stand-off between the Horsemen's Group and Racecourse Association (RCA) is casting uncertainty over the shape of British racing fixture list in the last four months of the year as the sport continues to grapple with the challenges caused by the Covid-19 crisis.

The sport has been operating under an emergency three-month fixture list since resuming from lockdown at the start of June, with the Levy Board providing funding for prize-money for the first ten weeks due to courses suffering financially from having no spectators or hospitality income.

The Levy Board is expected to continue funding up to the end of August, but discussions are ongoing about what will happen from September until the end of the year.