anything left on no price is a good bet

its april almost , you would need to see this peak and drasticly drop in the next fortnight , and then after that a safety period monitoring any rise of infections before you would even think about any restrictions lifted , and even then sport will be the last thing to return

2/3 months is optimistic at best imo

Facts at the moment are that it is likely to be 2 to 3 weeks before we hit the peak of the curve. If that curve is hit it in 2-3 weeks, then it will be presumed the social distancing measures are working. If thats the case then there could be a dramatic falloff in the following 2 -3 weeks and new cases could be back into double digits by the end of April.
Italy look to be approaching their peak hopefully and Germany also.
The way everyone is testing is different, our figures are completely false to other places as we only currently test those who have believe they have it, so we dont look to be inline with italy etc.
Take into account their ageing population and the way the elderly sit and smoke god knows what out in Spain and Italy and i think we could possibly be in a lot better scenario if the lockdown is followed.
We are basically looking at the emergency services whether they be private or NHS to be back to near fully 90% staffed and cases being in double digits for racing and football to start back up behind closed doors, and i would imagine if we are to remain in a state of lockdown measures the Government will want something to assist as sport does to pass the boredom away for those recovered or those who do not have the virus.
Its perfectly plausable to me that it may come 4 to 5 weeks after we have peaked, which would be around Mid May for racing. So i dont think 1st May is likely but its not a total right off.

Regards to Royal Ascot, wouldnt they prefer to get the classics started first ? and delay it rather than run it behind closed doors with the lost revenue and income it brings to the local and wider economy ?

Wuhan is back open theyre cycling round etc, and thats been 2 months in lockdown, ok more draconian and we may need to observe social distancing for a while but it doesnt mean we have to do it from home.

More important things in life, but life is for living and if a second spike comes in the winter are we really expected or do you imagine we will live 12 months on lockdown ?

elisjohn • March 29, 2020 3:37 PM BST
this should be interesting next week,
The provisional number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending 13 March 2020 (week 11) was 11,019; this represents an increase of 124 deaths registered in comparison with the previous week (week 10).

The average number of deaths for the corresponding week over the previous five years was 11,205.

and also from italy.
In the winter seasons from 2013/14 to 2016/17, an estimated average of 5,290,000 ILI cases occurred in Italy, corresponding to an incidence of 9%.

•
More than 68,000 deaths attributable to flu epidemics were estimated in the study period.

•
Italy showed a higher influenza attributable excess mortality compared to other European countries. especially in the elderly.

government hinting today that lockdown could be extended from 3 weeks at present to up to 12 weeks.

mmm..I've laid 5k to 1k but i'm on 2% commission rate

Apparently Covid-19 is expected to reach its peak in the next 2/3 weeks. if so that will take us into mid or 3rd week of April meaning a total lockdown very likely eg no public transport/movement of people at all only NHS and Police/Army allowed; a week after horse racing? I might 'lay' £10 to £2 myself, with winning all-in on Pinatubo.

^^
In the context of horse racing and 'laying' a bet is ok.

when racing does come back there will be a lot of laying on not off horses and greyhounds the cheats will be getting family and friends to lay there will be a pattern over time so betfair be on your toes

If Racing does start up again in 2020 which is now highly unlikely, Small and medium sized trainers, owners need to eat. You will see gambled on horses and drifting horses like never seen before in our sport.

Where will confidence in the sport from a betting point of view come from.?
That's a huge worry concern forward.

Sorry May 2020

Momentous plans for regional racing in three centres for up to a week at a time are being drawn up to restart British racing as close as possible to the BHA's self-imposed shutdown until the end of April.

Discussions have been taking place about the best way to resume racing after action was put on hold for six weeks as a result of revised government guidance around social distancing, limiting unnecessary travel and support for medical cover at mass gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter to stakeholders sent out last week, Brant Dunshea, the BHA’s chief regulatory officer and leader of the resumption of racing workstream, said the organisation was “planning for a resumption from the 1st of May”, and the sport’s regulator continues to have regular dialogue with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport about industry matters.

The Racing Post understands one way forward that has gained notable traction is operating racing on a regional basis with a racecourse, or racecourses, in the south, midlands and north selected to host consecutive fixtures over a sustained period of up to a week at a time.


One of the key elements within this would be the planned reduction of movement for participants to near zero. The focus has been around racecourses with on-site hotels, with the exception of Newmarket, where all those needed for a raceday to take place, such as jockeys, stable staff and officials, can stay throughout the duration with horses dropped off and taken away each day.

Additionally, racecourses’ feasibility for staging the meetings are reportedly being assessed through their ability to have action repeatedly take place over a prolonged period, their overall safety records for horses and jockeys, their proximity to virus epicentres and their location relative to major horse populations.

It is understood the plans are being put together with consideration for participant safety and with the aim of minimising any impact on the NHS, with reduced field sizes and the use of experienced jockeys only among the possible ways of helping to boost safety measures.

To what extent the amended fixtures would be funded by the Levy Board is not yet clear.

Racing taking place behind closed doors would be expected as part of a resumption with Dr Jenny Harries, England's deputy chief medical officer, saying on Sunday that it could be "up to six months" before life returned to "normal", as 1,228 people in the UK were reported to have died as a result of Covid-19.



One location which is almost certain to be included once any form of regionalised racing starts is Newmarket, where there are two racecourses, veterinary hospitals and a significant horse and human population to service fixtures. One source with knowledge of the discussions said: “Newmarket is the best place for it.”

Trainers in the town have already adopted a proactive approach around any potential return of racing in May, with conversations being held with racecourse officials and medical staff.

William Jarvis, chairman of the Newmarket Trainers Federation, said: “We’ve been talking about the resumption of racing and we’re trying to be proactive in this. I think that not only would it be of huge benefit for the industry, I think it would be a boost for the nation.

“I think if we could be seen to be a leader going forward it would be a huge benefit, and I think it’s very feasible. We’ve spoken to racecourse management and we believe that if we’re given permission to stage a race meeting in May then that would be completely possible. We think we could get in private ambulances, retired doctors, paramedics and we’ve had discussions with people about this.”

Entries for all races, including the Qipco 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas, scheduled to take place on May 2-3, have reverted to six-day confirmations, and Jarvis believes trainers in Newmarket will be ready to go as soon as needed.

“It would be nice to know a couple of weeks in advance if racing was going ahead,” he said. “However, if we were told on a Sunday that there would be racing next Saturday and we needed to make entries on the Monday then we would absolutely be prepared to do that.”

Really ?? I never saw anything prior to the report.
Not sure it’s nonsense, happy that BHA are being proactive.

For an optimistic outlook you need only to look to the example of Australia, who are miles ahead of us
in horseracing terms.
13 meetings yesterday, loads today, and even 2 on a quiet Monday tomorrow.
Now, I know not what they're doing, but a few jocks have tested positive, resulting in the odd
abandonment, but little other interruption.
I know it is a hot , large country, much like the US, but they are doing something we are not.
The BHA need to have a long hard look at their model to see if there is any light for us.
In conclusion, I'm not as pessimistic as a few on here and believe racing could be back in a few months.

Fire-and-Ice 29 Mar 20 10:26 
Willie, after your premium charge gets taken out what sort of odds would you be getting?

Someone on here said its the premium charge that is preventing the people on this thread who are convinced totally that racing is not starting May 1st.

They are talking like its a 1.01 so shouldn't they wade in anyhow?
hulk23 29 Mar 20 10:33 
be no racing again here before november,  at the earliest .. imo.

time to forget all about the horses and concentrate on staying alive chaps.


1.21 at mo -40% so 1.12..

and thats the 1st sensible thing hulk has ever contributed.

1.19 now, it seems it's a cert and tempted to put a couple of thousand on it and lay off to green up at 1.14, but not sure if it's worth the risk to win a few hundred either way.

What is going to be fascinating when we do get back is just how the race pattern look with the early part of the season lost, I mean, how can you have races in mid summer that would have been dependent on races from Spring and early summer to provide some sort of order.

The whole thing will have to be changed, let's just say we are back in time for Royal Ascot? will the King Edward the V11 be the new derby? how can you have any of the 2year old races when there has been nothing to order them and they'll all be maidens? will the coronation stakes be the new 1,000 guineas? the ST. James's Palace the new 2,000 guineas?

Will in fact the Irish Derby become the Derby of the British Isles.

I don't really care what the new format is, so long as we can watch some live sport.
This is brain numbing without it.
I am 72 and believe me, life is becoming rapidly boring.
Thank Christ for US & Aussie racing.

if we are lucky enough to start off in say , july or august just crack on with the regular calendar . otherwise we will be running the arc in december . so the 3 y o population get thrown straight into all aged races . they still get the allowance . crack on . should sort out the wheat from the chaff without a few months of dodging each other !

you been on your own half your life Mike?

RothmanMike 30 Mar 20 21:42 
the last wife left 36 years ago, and went back to Scotland.


If the virus gets you she will be back down to claim your Betfair balance