CORONAVIRUS - Planning underway to return racing to York in July

Racing could be returning to York as early as July, but it will be behind closed doors. 

Events would normally have been underway by now - with the Dante Festival to have taken place from the 13th of this month -- but the Knavesmire has been quiet since all racing was brought to halt by the lockdown.

The British Horseracing Authority is calling it a "Risk Managed Return", with strict rules including jockeys and support staff wearing masks.

Statement from York Racecourse:

To best facilitate this plan, a new provisional national fixture list was published by the BHA on Friday 22nd May covering dates from 1st June to the end of August, it is intended to help trainers prepare their horses and track operators prepare their racecourses. 

This draft fixture list allocates slots to York Racecourse starting with a still busy if rejigged July, being Thursday 9thJuly, Saturday & Sunday 18th & 19th July, then Saturday and Sunday 25th & 26th July.

The traditional dates for the four-day Welcome to Ebor Festival are unchanged, being Wednesday 19th to Saturday 22nd August.

To create the national flexibility required by this new fixture list, unfortunately it does mean that the scheduled racedays with a crowd for July have been cancelled.

Racegoers who had booked in advance for either John Smith’s Weekend (Friday 10th & Saturday 11th July) or Music Showcase Weekend (Friday eve 24th and Saturday 25th July) will be contacted by York Racecourse and offered a full refund or the chance to rollover their booking to summer 2021 

As the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival remains on its original dates and lies nearly three months away, there is no need to rush to any changes.

York Racecourse will respond to any updated advice from either Government or the BHA, as the nation continues its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Racegoers are asked to remain patient in respect of our August racedays.

It is to be stressed that racing nationally will only resume after the current phase of lockdown restrictions have been eased, moreover would only be on the basis of having full support from Government and Public Health Authorities.

 It is noted that all of York’s fixtures lie beyond the planned current Step 3 of the Government’s national roadmap, which is scheduled for 4th July.  

The planning remains rightly focused on the health of those delivering the activity, its participants and the wider public.

There is an understandable high level of detail in what is an evolving operational plan for York’s first raceday under this new fixture list, some six weeks away.

The focus is on the appropriate health screening regime before the event and on arrival, rigorous cleaning procedures across the venue and adherence to social distancing measures.

In terms of any fixtures held “behind closed doors” at York Racecourse, these would be strictly not for the public events, spectators are urged not to attend.

To emphasize, the plan which is being developed will obscure key views of the racing action and there will be no provision of car parks, catering nor toilets.

It is hoped the behind closed doors racedays will be covered by ITV as well as Racing TV

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