UK racing suspended until end of April

Horse racing in the UK will be suspended from Wednesday until the end of April due to the coronavirus outbreak.

It was announced on Monday that racing would continue behind closed doors and Tuesday‘s meetings at Taunton and Wetherby will go ahead without spectators.

However, the Grand National – set to take place at Aintree on April 4 – was cancelled and now the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced all racing will be suspended until the end of next month.

“This is a national emergency the like of which most of us have never seen before,” said chief executive of the BHA, Nick Rust.

“We’re a sport that is proud of its connection to rural communities and to the local businesses that support our industry. But our first duty is to the health of the public, our customers and to racing industry participants and staff, so we have decided to suspend racing following the government’s latest advice.”