When Will Betting Resume on UK Horse Racing?

Horse racing is one of the most popular sports to bet on. Some say horse racing without the betting industry would simply not be a viable option anymore. The UK has one of the strongest horse racing products, both in terms of the quality of racing in the country, the strength of the program and the number of people that bet on the sport. 

But when will horse racing, and horse racing betting UK resume and will it comes before any other sport in the country to give it some much-needed exposure? If you want make bets on horse racing with bitcoin, check best crypto bet sportsbooks in 2024 .

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Sport to Return in Next Phase of Government Plans

The UK government has a number system in place to show the level that Coronavirus is at. The current level is level 4, with the hope that level 3 will be reached over the next few weeks. This is an important step for those who like to bet on horse racing because this is when sport is allowed to resume behind closed doors. 

When the UK hits level 3, all forms of sport can begin, and the horse racing industry are already making plans to be one of the first sports back. 

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The government have given a very conditional date of June 1st for the move to level 3 based on what has happened over the past few weeks. This will see several people return to work, some selected children return to school and sport return. Everything will happen on the same date, so if the government is confident we are in level 3 then horse racing will come back on June 1st. 

How are the BHA Preparing?

The good news for horse racing is that to start on June 1st, no human contact is needed before that. This means that those getting horses fit and ready can maintain social distancing and get things ready during May, for an immediate start as soon as the government says they can resume. 

The BHA are preparing a BHA fixtures list to back this up and have already sent out a provisional fixture list for June 1st-8th which includes a total of 18 race meetings up and down the country. If you compare horse racing to football as an example, if football was to start on June 1st, they will have to get authorisation for players to train together in May and break social distancing rules. This could cause problems and football delay. However, we shouldn’t see that in horse racing. 

horse racing bha fixtures industry

On top of showing us the full fixture list for the first week of racing, the BHA have also revealed several further plans which highlight when bigger events will take place. This includes the 1000 & 2000 Guineas, trials for the Derby and Oaks and some group races from the schedule that have been missed in April and May due to the lockdown. 

These are all spread across weekend dates in June, providing a feast of action both in terms of the number of meetings we are going to see and the quality animals that we have on show. We are likely to see top-level action every single weekend through both June and July as the program unfolds and races are slotted in to catch up. 

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Betting on Horse Racing When It Returns

We have been without horse racing for two months now, and there are another few weeks of that to endure for fans of the sport. However, when we do hit the start date, and things are allowed to happen, this is going to be a great time for horse racing gamblers. 

Plans are in place to have either two or three meetings per day, with some of those being eight race cards plus having the option of dividing races, so we could see some cards with nine and ten races taking place. 

This will mean an excellent choice for punters, if you want to sit back and watch the action while placing bets, you will be able to do so for hours. This will last for even longer if some of the meetings are moved to evenings, lengthening the time racing is taking place. 

On top of this, we are going to see top-quality horses running every week of the summer. With trials and big races to fit in, as well as those that would normally take place, there isn’t room for everything. The weekends could prove to be some of the most exciting horse racing weekends we have seen in a long time with the horse racing fixtures that are being put together. 

Could Horse Racing Attract New Gamblers? 

There is every chance that horse racing will be able to take advantage of the lack of sport in the early part of June and pick up some new fans. This is a sport that doesn’t need any special considerations to get going again, whereas others do.

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That may be enough to give horse racing a head start on their competition and pick up some of their fans who are waiting for the action to start. We are going to see many big stars from the horse racing world attracting interest and attention in the early part of June. If no other sports stars are attracting attention on TV at this point, we could see horse racing making the headlines for papers and other news outlets. 

With this in mind, if horse racing comes back before other sports, we are likely to see the horse bookmakers offering big promotions when the top horse racing action takes place. This is likely to be in the form of welcome offers to attract new players, but we are also likely to see regular offers implemented. 

These will give everyone chance to claim something when they are betting on horse racing, so if you intend to get involved then be sure to keep your eye out and see what is available when the date nears. 

If you are interesting in more horse racing articles, check horse racing betting guide.

Dalius Mikalauskas

Sports Betting Expert

Dalius became interested in sports betting at the age of 16, although he could not place bets at that time (bets accepted from the age of 18). However, it was not forbidden to sell betting picks, which is what the author did actively on sports betting forums. Today, he has more than 18 years of experience in sports betting. In school, the auth ..
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