How the Queen’s favourite Royal Ascot race meeting was saved
An Australian administrator has told how Britain’s horse racing fraternity pulled together to get local race meets back on track and save the Queen’s favourite event.
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An Australian administrator has told how Britain’s horse racing fraternity pulled together to save the Queen’s favourite race meeting.
Royal Ascot will go ahead from Tuesday after UK racing authorities managed to get the sport back under strict coronavirus social distancing rules.
The Queen will miss the carnival at the track just a few miles from Windsor Castle for the first time in her 65-year reign, as racing proceeds behind closed doors.
It was understood Her Majesty would be watching the races on television and would still write a welcome on the race cards as usual.
Australian Brant Dunshea, the British Horseracing Authority’s chief regulatory officer, chaired the committee that worked to get racing back for June 1 in the UK.
Mr Dunshea, who was the former chief operating officer at Harness Racing Victoria, said the industry came together quickly to ensure the Royal Ascot was run.
“It was essential that we were able to resume racing on the first of June otherwise horses would not have been able to have a run before Royal Ascot,” he said.
The decision to resume was done hand in glove with Public Health England and the UK government.
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He said that it was “remarkable” how the sport had managed to adapt to new social distancing rules, adding it would have been borderline to run Royal Ascot without the two-week lead in.
Mr Dunshea co-ordinated the efforts and he closely monitored how racing authorities around the world, including Australia, were dealing with the response to the coronavirus crisis.
Lead up races were switched, with 20 listed races run in the first week of June alone to allow for better preparations.
And extra allowances were made for two-year olds so they could be handicapped from some of the carnival’s feature races.
The card has been expanded to 36 races but there will be no Australian runners because of coronavirus travel restrictions.
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Ashley Morton-Hunte, racing communications manager at Royal Ascot, said the course had been working on several plans to keep the carnival running since the UK went into lockdown on March 23.
“Preparation for Royal Ascot is always difficult, but this year has brought new challenges, which has seen the racing industry pull together to bring racing back behind closed doors,” he said.
“The team at Royal Ascot has worked incredibly hard to overcome the new challenges and implement the regulations set out by the BHA, ensuring the appropriate health screening, hygiene, and social distancing measures are in place to safeguard everyone involved.”
Horses from America, Ireland and France have accepted, but none from Australia.
Black Caviar’s narrow win in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in 2012 – the mare’s 22nd victory on the trot – was the last major Australian performance at the marquee race meeting.
Jockey Luke Nolen almost lost that race after he pulled up on Black Caviar about 100 metres from the post, however, she was able to hold on by mere inches and maintain her unbeaten run.
stephen.drill@news.co.uk