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03

Jun 2020

Last Updated: 03/06/2020
Sport
Sport

Ripon races ready to resume behind closed doors

by Tim Flanagan

| 03 Jun, 2020
Comment

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Horse racing has been the first professional sport in England to resume- it means Ripon Racecourse can make a belated start to its 2020 season later this month.

Horseracing at Ripon resumes on June 20th, albeit behind closed doors and with strict social distancing measures in place.

For James Hutchinson, who is clerk of the course and managing director of Ripon Racecourse Company, it has been a long wait since the autumn, when the last meeting was staged at Yorkshire's 'garden racecourse'.

This season's April and May meetings were wiped out by Covid-19, but James (pictured below, left at a pre-coronavius meeting) remains philosophical.



He told The Stray Ferret:

"There's no point in looking back at what didn't happen, we'd rather look forward and hope that it won't be long before we can open our gates to racegoers once more."


Before then, in addition to the evening meeting on Saturday 20th June, there will be meetings on 8th and 24th July and the 6th, 16th and 31st August - all behind closed doors.

On each date, there will be an eight-race card with a maximum of 12 runners per race, ensuring that the number of stable staff, jockeys and trainers present will be in manageable numbers, alongside the course's own employees, stewards, clerk of the scales, starter, vets and ambulance crews required to attend.



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Social distancing and hygiene measures will be in force across the course, in the changing room and the parade ring and, like the first meeting since lockdown staged at Newcastle,  jockeys will wear face masks before, during and after each race.

While punters will be unable to watch the action on course, the races will be live on Sky Sports Racing Channel and with bookmakers due to reopen from 15th June, those who want a bet will be able to do so and watch the racing action beamed into the betting shops.

James, pointed out:

"We are pleased to be back racing again, though it will be strange not to have racegoers present. We simply hope to complete the fixtures through to the end of August as safely as possible for all involve and take it from there, but to paraphrase the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, 'we'll be back!'"