German Racing plan for May 1st return

James Boyle

Published: April 10, 2020

Having developed an interest in racing whilst in college some years ago, James has worked in many areas of the industry, including a stint hiding his face on radio! From 2008 until 2017, he ran a successful tipping service and has had shares in numerous horses including the wonderful Fast Shot. Unsurprisingly given some of the horses he has bought shares in, his punting passions lie in sprint handicaps on both the turf and All-Weather surfaces!

Punters could receive a welcome boost on May 1 after plans for racing to resume in Germany were announced this week.

Its racing authority has revealed a six-week programme set to take place behind closed doors, beginning at Hanover and running until the meeting at Munich on June 15, with locations chosen with the intention of minimising travel.

A number of high-profile races have been rescheduled and will be run for 50 per cent prize-money due to the absence of spectators, including the German 1,000 Guineas, which has been moved from May to June 7 at Dusseldorf.

Germany has reported 118,000 cases of the coronavirus but has a lower mortality rate than its European neighbours, with 2,500 deaths recorded on Friday morning, compared to almost 8,000 in Britain.

“This is a bridging period between the phase without races and the one with races in front of spectators. It therefore lasts as short as possible and as long as necessary,” said Jan Pommer, managing director of Deutscher Gallop.

“We want to make the best of this location and present our great racing to even more people. We hope to win new fans.”

Arrangements for the meetings will be made alongside regional authorities and German bookmakers have been requested to waive their fees until racing returns in its normal form, until then, the action will be broadcast for free on the Deutscher Galopp website.