From Racehorse Trainer Antony Brittain
With the Government now giving their lockdown update on Sunday, Racing Industry leaders will meet on Monday 11th May to discuss the announcement.
They will make a statement afterwards which will hopefully bring some clarity.
We understand the process has been undertaken to select the racecourses to stage the first phase of the resumption of racing. We still expect a fixture list and programme of races for the resumption to be published this week.
The latest update for the resumption of racing was published by the BHA on 30th April.
The update stated: “To help trainers plan, during the next week we will be developing a provisional programme for the first seven days of racing following resumption – whatever the resumption date.
“We will then subsequently publish the rest of the provisional programme up until the end of June. This will be as close as possible to the original programme for the period, which means we will be looking to stage roughly the same number of races by type, class and distance.
“Ahead of this, we will issue a fixture cancellation notice for all fixtures that were originally scheduled to take place during May and June. This simply reflects the fact that we will be publishing a new provisional programme and does not seek to pre-empt or pre-judge any government decisions around lockdown or resumption.”
More decisions will be taken over the coming days and we all look forward to a time when racing can resume, albeit behind closed doors and with many restrictions.
All remains well at Northgate Lodge with the staff and horses. The daily routine continues as we work our way through the national lockdown and await news of when it is deemed safe for racing to start again. We will be ready to go !!
The BHA link below provides an interesting insight into the thoughts and planning being taken for a resumption of racing to happen and how this is initially likely to be achieved.
The daily routine continues at Northgate Lodge with the emphasis on the safety of our staff and the ongoing care and wellbeing of the horses.
The horses are being exercised in accordance with the social distancing guidelines and other health measures issued by our various industry bodies.
It is important for the health of the horses but their current training regime is to maintain their welfare rather than race fitness.
The group dedicated to formalising the resumption of racing are working hard and we will welcome their efforts once the industry is up and running again, once it is deemed safe to do so.
Hope all our friends and followers are staying well
Best Wishes from all at Northgate Lodge
In an update to our earlier posts, racing has now been suspended until 30th April.
Northgate Lodge fully supports the measures being introduced by the BHA and other racing industry organisations to continue with UK racing but behind closed doors.
The welfare of the staff who will keep the show on the road is paramount. We are therefore asking owners NOT to attend the yard at this time, keeping any social contact to a minimum. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause but we will be here and please feel free to contact us at any time.
The 16 tracks owned by Arena are indicating that owners will not be admitted during this difficult period. This applies to Newcastle, Wolverhampton, Lingfield etc where we run the majority of our horses. Tracks under other ownership are, at the moment, allowing 2 owners to attend per runner.
Restrictions may change so we will update you as new information becomes available.
Thank you for your support and understanding at this tough time.
Best Wishes from Antony and all at Northgate Lodge