Owners ban and betting shop closures are a blow, but there is comfort that the sport has at least been allowed to continue
Racehorse owners will be barred from all British tracks for the duration of the latest national lockdown while the closure of all betting shops for the first time since June 2020 will mean “a direct hit in the low millions per month” to racing’s betting levy income, according to Alan Delmonte, the Horserace Betting Levy Board’s chief executive.
While the next few weeks will be costly for racing, however, the overwhelming mood among the sport’s senior figures on Tuesday was relief that the disaster of a fresh suspension of all racing has been averted.
