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Wednesday UK Evening Fixtures Moved Up

Bath and Kempton have both had their Wednesday evening cards moved to earlier in the day to avoid a timing clash with England's Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Sunday. Bath was due to end at 8:35 p.m. and Kempton's final race was slated for 8:50 p.m. The semi-final match begins at 8 p.m.

“Having received applications from both The Jockey Club and Arena Racing Company, the BHA has approved the alternation of race times at both Kempton Park and Bath on Wednesday evening to avoid a clash with England's Euro 2020 semi-final match against Denmark,” the British Horseracing Authority said in a statement. “We wish Gareth Southgate and the England team the best of luck.”

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Cazoo Will Sponsor St Leger Festival

The G1 St Leger will now be sponsored by Cazoo. Already announced as the sponsor for the G1 Cazoo Derby and G1 Cazoo Oaks, the UK's leading online car retailer has partnered with Arena Racing Company who own and operate Doncaster. The Cazoo St Leger Festival is scheduled for Sept. 8-11. The deal will also include year-round prominent branding for Cazoo at all 16 ARC racecourses.

Alex Chesterman, founder and CEO of Cazoo, said, “We are delighted to partner with ARC on the new Cazoo St Leger Festival, home to the world's oldest Classic.”

ARC chief executive Martin Cruddace added, “We are delighted to welcome Cazoo as our new partner for the Cazoo St Leger Festival and, of course, the feature race itself.

“As an innovative and growing brand, they are a fantastic fit for what is an incredibly popular and important meeting in the race calendar.”

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Southwell to Switch to Tapeta Surface

Southwell Racecourse’s fibresand surface will be replaced by Tapeta this spring and the project will be completed by the summer of 2021, the Arena Racing Company announced on Monday. A planning application was submitted for the new surface because the fibresand has come to the end of its operational life. Fibresand was first laid down in 1989, the start of all-weather racing at the Nottinghamshire venue. Tapeta, developed by Michael Dickinson and Joan Wakefield of Tapeta Footings, has already been laid down at Wolverhampton and Newcastle-also ARC courses-since 2014 and 2016, respectively. It is also in use in North America at Presque Isle Downs, Golden Gate Fields and Turfway Park Stateside, as well as Woodbine in Canada. This project follows the construction of floodlights in 2019 and the development of a flood alleviation scheme to protect the racecourse.

“Racing at both Wolverhampton and Newcastle has benefitted hugely from the installation of Tapeta, as we have worked closely with Michael Dickinson, Joan Wakefield and their team on the maintenance and upkeep of both surfaces,” said ARC Chief Executive Martin Cruddace. “Tapeta represents the next generation of artificial all-weather racing surface, in terms of its appeal to both trainers and jockeys, and it offers a number of benefits regarding its safety record, relative lack of kickback and fairness for horses. In addition, it has the ability to handle very low temperatures and significant rainfall.

“The installation of Tapeta will give us an opportunity to look at the flat programme at Southwell and possibly introduce some Fast Track Qualifier races for the All-Weather Championships, for example. This work represents another significant step forward for racing at Southwell, which we intend to be one of the finest all-weather tracks in the world.”

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Doncaster Back Behind Closed Doors

After around 2,500 spectators were admitted on the opening day of Doncaster’s St Leger Festival on Wednesday as part of a pilot project for reintroducing fans to sporting events, the remainder of the festival will be behind closed doors with Prime Minister Boris Johnson once again limiting gathers to six people. The directive came from the Doncaster Council. A crowd of about 6,000 had been expected for the G1 St Leger on Saturday.

“We have had confirmation this afternoon from the local authority that we will not be able to admit a crowd to the final three days of the St Leger Festival, Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 September,” said Mark Spincer, managing director of racecourse owner Arena Racing Company’s racing division. “The race meeting will continue on a ‘behind closed doors’ basis, as per all other race meetings currently taking place in Britain.

“This pilot event represents a hugely important step not just for our business but for the whole of British racing as well as the sports and hospitality industries as a whole. We do, of course, fully understand and respect the decision and will be contacting all of our customers booked for the remaining three days as a matter of urgency. We were pleased to work closely with Doncaster Council to set up this pilot event in the manner that we had, but matters beyond anyone’s control, and the data regarding local rates that have come to light today, mean we will not be able to welcome a crowd from Thursday onwards.”

Dr. Rupert Suckling, director of public health for Doncaster, said in a statement, “The current rate of infection for the borough currently stands at 10.6 infections per 100,000 people which I have been updated on today and this is an increase due to a range of factors including an increase in testing and a lag in the test results coming in. Therefore on the grounds of public health and public safety, I have instructed the racecourse to hold the St Leger Festival behind closed doors from tomorrow. I appreciate this decision may not be met with universal agreement but it is the safest and most appropriate way to move forward for everyone’s best interests in the borough and beyond.”

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