By India Thompson
Coronovirus has taken over 2020 as the topic of discussion. Our lives have been put on hold, shops have closed, restaurants have shut their kitchens and sport has come to an abrupt halt.
Famous events such as The Euros 2020 have been put on hold until next year however the Horse Racing Industry has the go-ahead – races will resume behind closed doors as of Monday 1st June.
Horse racing is one of the most famous sports we have here in the UK and the rest of the world, bringing in over $116 billion dollars each year for the betting industry providing over 70,000 full time jobs. It brings us world famous events such as The Grand National, Royal Ascot and arguably the most famous – The Cheltenham Festival.
Back in March, Cheltenham Races opened its doors four days before Boris Johnson announced lockdown measures, amid speculation it wasn’t going to take place due to the Coronovirus outbreak. The speculations turned out to be false and hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the racetrack despite what was happening.
Photo credit: India Thompson
Many people attended Cheltenham – but only some came prepped with hand sanitizer and a pair of gloves. Did the pandemic had any real effect on the people attending – did they take precautions and take into consideration what was happening across the world?
Sanitizing stations and gloves
To its credit, Cheltenham organisers installed sanitizing stations at almost every corner on the racecourse with the bold label ‘DONT PASS IT ON’ -encouraging people to sanitize whenever they could.
Photo credit: Google Images
But the atmosphere was still at large and the pubs and bars located on the track were full to the brim filled with punters and groups of old and young people enjoying the day. At first glance It seemed like another world where an outbreak wasn’t happening and it was like any other year at Cheltenham.
At the Guinness Grandstand, racing enthusiast Jack Brown was sitting with a group of friends. “Don’t get me wrong, I did think about it and the impact of me attending the festival would have if I contracted the virus however I have taken precautions throughout the day,” he said. “I have used the sanitizing stations and have washed my hands whenever I can do so.”
He added that he was a bit nonchalant about the risks. “I think everyone that’s come here today understands the risks that could happen however it is great to be here and have a day out without worrying about the virus or whats going to happen next.
“I am glad that I have come today and have no regrets that I did.”
Doing things differently
Derek Thompson, 69, works for BBC 5 Live every year reporting live from the track doing interviews with the jockeys, trainers and celebrities that attend. It was easy to see that Thompson, who recovered from bowel cancer back in 2014, did things differently this year. There wasn’t any hand shaking or hugging at the end of an interview. Instead, it was a thank you and a squirt of hand sanitizer.
Thompson said holding the Festival was a positive step, although not an easy one for organisers to make. “I think that it was a very hard decision to make due to the fact that so many people including me earn our money from the festival and without we would be out of pocket and a job,” he said.
“I think what the Jockey Club have done with the sanitizing stations have really helped and I’m not getting to close to the people I’m interviewing, there’s no hugging or hand shaking like I always have done in the past.”
Gold Cup day brought in over 68,000 people to watch the racing from the track, three people who attended former Duchess of Cornwall’s husband Andrew Parker Bowles, Footballer Charlie Austin and comedian Lee Mack all showed symptoms a week or so later along with two bar workers and a 65-year-old man who was taken to intensive care after being in contact with a race attendee.
However many people have argued that up to 250,000 people attended the festival and only a handful contracted the virus – so was it acceptable that it took place?
Horse Racing has resumed all over the world with Royal Ascot being held behind closed doors from the week beginning 16th June.
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