Horse racing fixtures added to meet demand

Nine additional horse racing fixtures will be added in June and July owing to high demand as racing resumed this week.

UK.- The UK’s Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) has said it will fund nine additional racing fixtures in June and July owing to the high demand seen during the resumption of racing in England this week.

Scotland and Wales will see racing resume later in the month, and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has revised its current racing programme to include race meetings at Scottish and Welsh courses.

HBLB Operations Manager, Tom Byrne, said: “The three new fixtures next week are in recognition of the high level of immediate demand to run, which is a reflection of the loyalty and commitment of racehorse owners having kept their horses in training.

“We are therefore pleased to be able to provide the funding for these and for additional fixtures when no Irish racing is being staged. This funding is on top of our previously announced £15.7million for the first ten weeks of racing and gives further opportunity to maximise the exposure of British Racing.”

The additional fixtures will give inexperienced studs a chance to run by including more novice meetings. The BHA will publish its July race schedule early next week.

Paul Johnson, Head of Racing at the BHA, said: “Both the Fixture List and race programme for the weeks and months ahead are constantly evolving, as we aim to provide as many chances to run as we can for all sectors of the horse population.

“With the Levy Board being asked to provide almost all of the funding for fixtures, we are currently limited to staging three fixtures on most days rather than the five or six we would normally schedule at this time of year.

“Competition for places in all races is expected and it is not possible at present to stage as many races as we would like, but we are trying to provide races as and where we can for horses and their owners who have stood by the sport despite the recent uncertainty.

“The possibility of adding further opportunities, including for Jump racing after its return in July, will be considered once there is greater clarity about the sport’s income streams in the weeks ahead.”

Sports bettors flocked to online betting platforms this week when horse racing in England resumed at Newcastle on Monday, with turnover expected to be well above that of a usual Monday. 

Barry Orr of Betfair told the Racing Post: “The Betfair Exchange matched volumes were very strong with an average of around £1million matched per race.

“As you can imagine, for a Monday in June that represents a sizeable increase on the usual level of activity for a similar card pre-lockdown.”

Bet365’s Pat Cooney said: “It’s been better than a typical Monday, and that’s been race-by-race. It was helped by the fact that, at the time of the first race, we had 120 runners and no non-runners.

“With 72-hour decs, and then the sport getting the go-ahead, punters have had a long, leisurely look and we were very pleased with the levels of business. It’s certainly not a forgotten product.”

The UK Tote Group offered several innovations to coincide with the resumption of racing.