The Novel Coronavirus impacted everyone across the globe. It resulted in the cancellation of every sport since the beginning of March. All the players, staff, coaches were to sit back at their homes in order to encourage the social distancing norms to fight the virus. The lockdown led to shutting down stadiums, courses, fields, and courts which affected the game up to a large extent.
Whether it is cricket, soccer, football, or horse racing, the government authorities had strict lockdown guidelines to be followed by everyone. For 3 months, the game has been stopped and there are no players on the field and audience in the stadium leaving a larger impact on the economy and livelihoods of people associated with it. The mass gatherings at the course are the source of income for everyone which got stranded due to the cancellation of the game.
The reopening of games is the sign of revival of the economy and setting things normal. After the resumption of many games, horse racing is to resume on 1st June 2020 in the United Kingdom after the official meeting by the authorities. This step has been taken in order to honor the frontline workers who have been constantly working hard to keep everyone stay safe and fit.
The National health workers have worked constantly as doctors, police officers, sanitation workers, nurses who have worked for taking care of the patients. The game to be resumed with proper regulations and safety for the players as well as the staff. The game authorities have decided to keep the game behind the doors as of now.
At Newbury Racecourse is expected to reopen after a long break on 12th June 2020. The players stated about problems faced during the lockdown like putting on weight, frustrating lockdown due to no training which will be resolved after the game would be started full-fledged. The places like Age Concern were served as a community hall during the lockdown.
At 10:21 a.m., the competitive sport is to be resumed at Perry bar Stadium in Birmingham, known as the “Arc Thanks to NHS and Key Workers” race. This would be the first kind of a match to be held after the restrictions are eased in the UK. Further, at Newcastle, the game is all set to restart with a bumper ten race card named “Welcome Back British Racing Handicap”.
The Managing Director of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, Mark Bird, announced about the comeback of the game. He mentioned that the game will be kept behind the doors in order to maintain the norms issued by the government. They have expressed excitement about the resumption of the game. Over the 2-3 months, the authorities worked enormously hard to plan a safe, effective, and phased return of the game and for the players. There have been guidelines at the courses so that the races are run in a smooth and safe manner. The players would be disinfected twice a day to encourage safety at the courses.
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