The British Horseracing Authority has made tentative ‘best-case scenario’ plans for the Derby to take place in July this year.
The revised schedule emailed to trainers on Friday sees the first four Classics of the flat campaign rearranged, with the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas aiming to be run at Newmarket in early June before the Derby and Oaks take place at Epsom Downs the following month.
Under the new plans, Royal Ascot would remain unmoved in its current slot of June 16-20, with organisers having already confirmed that the meeting will go ahead behind closed doors, if at all.
The provisional programme is entirely dependent on the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic allowing racing to resume. A statement said it was “unlikely” that the entire black type programme would be able to take place this year, but raised the possibility of trial races feeding into the Classics and Royal Ascot being held late next month.
On Thursday, the BHA extended its blanket suspension of racing indefinitely. It had previously suspended all jumps racing until July in the hope of being able to start the flat campaign without spectators at the start of May.
