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When racing comes to reflect on the ups-and-downs of 2020, one name to throw in the hat for its “person of the year” might be the British Horseracing Authority’s low-key chief medical adviser, Dr Jerry Hill.

s an industry essentially closed for 11 weeks, English racing has already lost around £50m (€55m). With no crowds and running on a much-reduced business model, racecourses – which have been losing £8.2m (€9.1m) a month – are expected to break even at best while racing is run behind closed doors. One can only imagine the hit being taken by owners.

But, if one good thing has come out of the pandemic, it is that on the eve of the sport’s return at Newcastle today, Nick Rust, the outgoing boss, was able to describe the leadership of the sport as “more united than I’ve ever seen it”.

“We had to make some major and difficult decisions, but everyone stuck close together,” he said. “But this is the start of the beginning. We will have to work hard to battle through the next six months.”

But, in the early days of lockdown when even contemplating getting a sport back on was considered a thought crime, and the BHA had to tread a tightrope of being seen to be keen by its stakeholders to go but not so keen that it might be regarded as bullying the UK government, Hill and other sports came together to “share information and support each other”.

The group soon became noticed by government, began to liaise with the Department for Sport, and was given access to Public Health England (PHE) and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. Though it represented a wide range of sports, it worked as a single voice and came up with broad guidelines which could be tailored to individual sports. Thus, while protocols at Newcastle today might resonate with other sports, they will not be identical.

Being outside, non-contact and with the majority of its participants from rural areas meant racing was at a lower risk of transmission. Eventually, the key stage three in the winding down of lockdown became the point when a resumption of racing might be possible.

Target

Until then, resumption had been a frustrating moving target for trainers trying to prepare their horses. Initially, early May was the best scenario, then mid-May until, finally, the target stopped at June 1. As John Gosden pointed out, you can’t sit your horses down like a football team and tell them you’re not going for another fortnight.

The three key planks of UK racing’s protocols have been trying to reduce the chances of burdening the NHS with injuries, a three-stage health screening of all participants – starting with a mandatory educational module, a questionnaire and a temperature check on arrival – and the whole race day based around social distancing.

Anyone who is unwell or has a temperature above 37.8C will be turned away and the BHA will conduct a surveillance programme, with PHE, in case there is a spike of infections in an area linked to racing. “Racing in Britain is safe, but there are risks,” said Brant Dunshea, BHA chief regulatory officer.

“We’re taking a strong approach to risk and have put in place measures to manage it. We will have to adhere to social distancing, but there are key tasks (legging up a jockey, handing a saddle over, pushing a horse in the stalls) where it is not possible to stay two metres apart.”

One of the BHA stewards will become a social-distancing officer who will initially act in an educational and supportive role rather than as an enforcer, although a framework of sanctions by the stewards has been formulated for persistent offenders.

A blemish-free first day is probably hoping for too much, but two “walk-through” days at Lingfield, on Wednesday and Friday, when three “races” were run, means most of the glitches will have been ironed out.

“We wanted to see how pre-screening worked, screening on arrival, ensuring the gear transfer was taking place in a safe, controlled way,” Dunshea said.

But while Rust accepted that the running of Cheltenham – one of the last major sporting events before lockdown – faced continuing examination, he pointed out that racing’s return was being undertaken very responsibly.

“We’ll get coverage we haven’t seen for 50 years,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to reconnect with the public, to showcase the sport.” (© Daily Telegraph, London)

Irish Independent

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