Owners with runners entered should find out on Monday whether they will be allowed in to watch their horses race after Thursday’s lockdown
Owners with runners entered later this week should find out on Monday whether they will be allowed into courses to watch their horses race after Nick Rust, the chief executive of the
British Horseracing Authority, promised on Sunday to “fight hard” to keep them on track when the latest national lockdown begins on Thursday.
Owners were barred from racecourses for just over a month after racing resumed on 1 June at the end of the first national lockdown. Their return from 4 July – Derby day – was seen as an important step as racing does what it can to maintain its ownership base at a time of immense economic uncertainty, in particular for smaller-scale owners. The scheduled racing on Thursday includes the first jumps meeting of the new season at Newbury, where a total of 140 horses are entered for the seven races.