Blow for Wetherby as festive fixtures will take place behind closed doors

The track, which stages the Rowland Meyrick Chase on Boxing Day and Castleford Chase 24 hours later, comes under the jurisdiction of Leeds City Council which remains in Tier 3 – the highest level of alert.

And while Matt Hancock, the Health and Social Care Secretary, raised hopes at the start of the week that the public health crisis in Leeds had eased sufficiently, his optimism was misplaced as Ministers now urge caution.

As this would have been Wetherby’s first meeting since the Covid crisis with paying spectators, it would only have been allowed to admit 1,000 racegoers at Christmas – and then up to 2,000 people at subsequent meetings.

However the latest decision is unlikely to have a significant impact on the track’s finances – revenue from ticket sales was likely to be offset by the cost of the measures necessary to maintain social distancing and so on.

Chief executive Jonjo Sanderson said the course was, nevertheless, working with the rest of racing on measures to welcome back as many spectators as possible as soon as it was practical to do so.

Hancock’s statement means a small crowd presence at Catterick’s festive meeting – but Doncaster’s big Christmas meeting will take place in front of empty stands.

And the decision to impose Tier 3 restrictions on swathes of the Home Counties means Kempton’s Christmas Festival, beginning with the feature King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, will suffer a similar fate.

A spokesperson for the track’s owners, Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “We know that racing fans will be disappointed to be missing out on some thrilling live action over the Christmas period, especially having only just been allowed to return to our venues in very limited numbers.

“However, we recognise we must all play our part in tackling this pandemic and look forward to welcoming racegoers back to our courses as soon as we’re able to do so.”

Ascot’s pre-Christmas fixture this weekend is also set to be affected by the latest developments.

A post on the track’s Twitter feed read: “The Government has announced that Berkshire will be moved into Tier 3 restrictions from 00:01am on Saturday 19th December.

“As a result we are currently reviewing the attendance of spectators at Ascot Racecourse for December Racing Weekend and will provide a full update shortly.”

The Saturday meeting features the Grade One Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot where a seemingly resurgent Paisley Park, the former champion stayer, takes on Thyme Hill, the rising star of the three- mile hurdling division,

Though the Philip Hobbs-trained Thyme Hill prevailed when they clashed at Newbury last month, Emma Lavelle is hopeful that Paisley Park can assert in this emerging rivalry.

She said: “I was thrilled to bits with him at Newbury – it was great to get him back and see him finish with his usual tenacity.

“Although the race was funnily run, it was probably ideal because it meant he didn’t have a hard race at that stage of the season – and it gave us our confidence back.

“At Cheltenham last year at the point you expected him to do his thing, he wasn’t able – (so) it was to his credit he wasn’t beaten that far.

“You could see when he got back to the stable his heart wasn’t beating in rhythm. It’s not uncommon, and they reckon good horses do it more than others because they tend to have bigger hearts.”

Paisley Park soon began to demonstrate he was back in full health, and trainer Lavelle added: “The situation rectified itself – which was good. If you have to intervene, it is more concerning.

“There clearly is a chance it can happen again, but I think it is less likely to happen again than likely – it didn’t happen again to Denman or Sprinter Sacre, so hopefully he can follow in their footsteps.

“If the Long Walk was last Saturday he’d have been ready to go. He’s definitely come forward from Newbury, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.