'I'm told they're staying' - 48-hour decs for jumps in the spotlight

The introduction of blanket 48-hour declarations for jumps races has increased non-runners, but punters and bookmakers say the issue, which has divided trainers, is "one of the few positives" to come from the pandemic.

Statistics compiled by the Racing Post show the portion of declared runners later withdrawn has risen from 6.02 per cent for races with 24-hour declarations before the lockdown to 9.17 per cent since, when all jumps races have had 48-hour declarations.

When jumping returned in July it did so with the same 48-hour approach used on the Flat, something that had previously been in place only for major events and Sundays.