The Royal Ascot meeting is set to go on as planned with no spectators. (Photo credit: Ascot Racecourse).(Photo credit: Ascot Racecourse).
Racing is gearing up to see a return as the Royal Ascot is getting closer – a little over a month away at this point with no signs of any change in place – there were initial concerns as the Cheltenham event that took place during the last week of March follow with a large number of attendees being confirmed to have coronavirus following the event – it was suggested the Ascot should err on the side of caution and cancel the event, but that was quickly met with resistance by the organisers urging the event would continue. As of now the event will continue for its full schedule, but as expected will do so without any fans in attendance.
There are now, however, new concerns for the event as disagreements around the starting date have started to arise following a push to have dates brought forward – British racing is set to start a week earlier than Irish racing as the date aimed for is June 1st, but as qualification is set to take place over an eight day period there’s a chance international racers may not be able to get any qualified due to the time lag and the scheduling that has been given.
International Racers at a Disadvantage
It has already been said that nobody within the sport is likely to have an ideal preparation given the current circumstances, but if current plans were to go forward then the international racers could be at a huge disadvantage. There has been some mention on what may be done to help bridge the gap a little but no specifics have been given yet – current thought is that the best two-year-old races may not be held until the end of the week to give those with Ascot hopes the best possible opportunity, but nothing has been confirmed yet and as such this could just be rumour.
This does still hold some good news for some, however, but may cause a little shake up – there are plenty of betting sites and casinos not on gamstop that have eagerly been awaiting the return of racing and sports to kickstart the industry again and racing has always been a fan favourite – with so much set to get underway in a relatively short period of time there’s definitely plenty to fill – this has already been seen in combat sports as the UFC held three events in the space of a week which saw one of the most successful bet events of the companies history.
Over the coming month there will be plenty of news regarding any changes that may come to the Ascot and what can be expected from the organisers, with any luck there may be some good news for the Irish racers who feel they may be left out to dry with the current arrangements – one thing that is for certain however is racing is nearly back which can only be good news for fans across the country – other sports are also looking to follow shortly as we’ve seen football already get back underway in Germany – good signs for all to come.
