French horseracing set to return on 11 May
Race meetings to be staged without spectators in supervised sanitary conditions
Racing in France is poised to get underway again behind closed doors from 11 May, France Galop has announced.
The sport has been suspended in the country since 17 March when France entered an initial 15-day lockdown to stymie the Covid-19 outbreak.
New measures mean only the jockey, trainer and one groom will be allowed on the racecourse for each runner, while horses and jockeys from outside France cannot participate until at least the end of May.
France Galop said a fixture list will be published later this week, due in part to some tracks not having the facilities to meet the necessary conditions.
In a statement, France Galop said tens of thousands of French households rely upon racing, from stud farms to stables, and that the suspension of racing had deprived them of income from competition, “their raison d’être”.
News of racing resuming in France, albeit under restrictions, offers a glimmer of hope to the racing industry in Great Britain and Ireland where the sport has been suspended since 18 March and 24 March respectively.
Racing had been held behind closed doors in Ireland before the authorities suspended action altogether.
Last week, the British Horseracing Authority extended racing’s suspension indefinitely after previously pencilling in 1 May as a possible date for its return without racegoers.
The Levy Board recently launched a £22m coronavirus fund to support racecourses, jockeys and horses in partnership with the Racing Foundation.