Job losses as racing faces up to cost of outbreak

Hurdles are removed from a desolate Wetherby after Tuesday's meeting - the last before the sport's suspension.

George McGrath, chief executive of the National Association of Racing Staff, has been inundated with calls for help from his members since Tuesday’s announcement that racing was to cease until at least May in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

“In terms of my membership it is catastrophic and it is only heading in one direction,” he said.

“The organisation itself, NARS, is OK at the moment, but we are a small organisation representing 7,500 staff so as you can imagine we are pretty busy at the moment.

Horses on the gallops at Middleham earlier this week.

“Traditionally most staff will survive from one week to the next. Most of my members are paid weekly, some fortnightly – very few monthly. Like a lot of people in the country they might be able to survive without one pay cheque, but if you’ve got to go two or three you’re going to struggle.

“The reality is the racing industry is looking at a loss of around £200m if we can’t get going before June. Trainers are doing their utmost to help staff keep their jobs, but by and large they are small businessmen with a massive cashflow problem.”

One minor positive in favour of working in a racing yard is that it takes place outdoors.

“Most strings ride one behind another. Most yards are practising social isolation and have extra handwash facilities,” he added.

“Most of my members are under 60 so unless they have underlying health issues are likely to survive the virus,” he said.

“We are a young, resilient, hard-working workforce so in some respects that is the silver lining to the cloud.”