- Bumper crowds forced to miss hugely popular fixture
- Robbie Power back on board Lostintranslation in King Geoge
After two afternoons at its International meeting in December with nearly 2,000 racegoers in attendance, Cheltenham has been forced to return behind closed doors for its valuable card on New Year’s Day after Gloucestershire was raised from tier 2 to tier 3 on Wednesday under the government’s schedule of restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Tickets for the 1 January fixture went on sale on Wednesday morning, just a few hours before the announcement that Cheltenham will be in tier 3 from Boxing Day. Other changes to affect racing included Herefordshire’s move from tier 1 to tier 2, which will mean that Hereford, previously the only course in the country allowed to admit up to 4,000 spectators, will now be limited to 2,000 racegoers.
