Newmarket to continue with limited capacity spectator pilot at three-day meeting next week

Newmarket is to continue with its limited capacity spectator pilot at its three-day Cambridgeshire meeting which begins a week on Thursday. Amy Starkey, regional director of the Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “We’re pleased to be working closely with the local authorities to stage a limited spectator trial at the Rowley Mile over the course of the Cambridgeshire meeting. “The racecourse is a vast, predominantly outdoor environment that could safely space out several thousand people, not just the maximum 1,000 who will be in attendance with stringent health and safety measures in place. “The Newmarket will provide insights we can share across the industry and with other sports, so that when it is possible to welcome some level of spectators back to events more regularly in the future we will be well equipped to do so.” Ayr’s Western meeting which begins on Wednesday will do so with owners, the backbone of the sport, reduced to two per horse with a maximum of 200 in total.