Spectators will not get into Perth Racecourse this year.
The facility has been forced to shelf plans for a restricted attendance at this month’s Glorious Finale.
The news follows an announcement from Scottish Racing that no Scottish racecourse is in a position to host a test restricted attendance “in the immediate future”.
The body made the decision after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon imposed new restrictions to try and combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Perth Racecourse had hoped to have some fans in the grounds for the final meet of the season, which will take place on September 23 and 24.
A statement from the course said the team at Perth had “undertaken considerable work and discussions in preparing for a potential pilot event with restricted attendance across both Glorious Finale days with a full operational plan ready to be executed, upon approval”.
However, the statement adds “there is still too much uncertainty around the viability of preparing for a pilot that could easily be prohibited at short notice due to the ongoing pandemic”.
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All advance tickets have now been cancelled and ticket holders are being offered the option of a transfer to an equivalent fixture next year or a refund.
Ticket holders had been surveyed for their views, with the course saying the results were “incredibly positive in terms of feeling safe about attending the races”.
Hazel Peplinski, Perth Racecourse chief executive, said: “First and foremost, we understand that this remains an incredibly difficult situation for everyone and our top priority will always be people’s safety.
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“However, it is hard to accept that the whole of 2020 is going to have passed by without having heard one click of the turnstile to welcome a single racegoer to Perth.
“The racegoers are our heart and soul of what we do as a racecourse operator and this is really, really tough.
“Safety is paramount at all times and, however hard the decision is to remain behind closed doors for our final two days of the season, we cannot take any risks either financially at this time or in terms of the national effort to contain the COVID virus.
“Perth Racecourse shall re-group and focus our energies on sustainability with our stakeholders – the support we have received continues to be heart-warming and we are determined to bounce back.”
The course statement also moved to thank the local authority’s Safety Advisory Group for “being so supportive and helpful with their guidance throughout this process”.
