In Britain, it's 'Business as Usual'—for Now

Racing is the last major sport in Britain still staging action before its customers—but with the prospect of it being forced behind closed doors in the near future as the coronavirus crisis grows.

The British Horseracing Authority has, however, stressed there is no change to its position "to continue with business as usual" until an official change of government policy is formally announced.

The authority is in daily communication with the government and reiterated its stance despite the suggestion late March 13 that a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people could be imminent.

It is thought a clampdown may take effect as early as next weekend and would force racing in Britain to take place behind closed doors or be canceled.

Prime minister Boris Johnson did not call for sporting events to be canceled Thursday when he announced the move to the delay stage of the government's coronavirus action plan.

England's chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, had said stopping mass gatherings would not have a huge impact on the spread of the virus, but the decision has been made in some other countries to limit the strain on public services.

As of 9 a.m. Saturday, 37,746 people have been tested in the U.K., and 1,140 were confirmed as positive. Twenty-one patients who tested positive for COVID-19 have died, 10 more than the figure released Friday. 

Following the Cheltenham Festival, where crowds in excess of 250,000 attended between Tuesday and Friday, racing continued to remain largely unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak Saturday.

The position puts British racing at odds with not only other racing jurisdictions such as France and Ireland but a raft of other sports, including football, tennis, golf, Formula One, and rugby, which have postponed or canceled competitions.

Racing in Ireland took place behind closed doors for the first time since the start of the coronavirus outbreak at Dundalk on Friday night, with Saturday's fixture at Navan following the same protocol. In Scotland, Kelso will race behind closed doors Monday.

However, Saturday's meetings at Kempton, Fontwell, Uttoxeter, Newcastle, and Wolverhampton went ahead with no restrictions.

Government guidelines and National Health Service advice were clearly visible at Uttoxeter's Midlands National meeting, with the track employing 30 extra cleaners on site and spending £6,000 on precautions such as hand sanitizers to make people feel comfortable in attending. 

The track's executive director, David MacDonald, said: "We've stuck to government guidelines and followed the information provided by the BHA, which is speaking to the government every day.

"The planning has been excellent from Arena Racing Company, who have been in touch with all the executives and directors from their racecourses and mapped out what it might look like if it goes behind closed doors. We're ready, and there will be quite a few people sat at home who will be pleased if tracks can host racing."

Mark Spincer, the managing director of the racing division at ARC, said: "I'm really pleased with the crowd, and the team at Uttoxeter have done an amazing job in difficult circumstances for everybody.

"People seem to have had a nice time, and the number of walk-ups has been higher than in the last two years, but the crowd will be down on what we expected as ticket sales have understandably not been at their usual rate in the last couple of weeks."

Spincer also provided a stark warning about the possibility of racing going ahead with limited attendance in the future. 

He said: "We've been working closely on the ifs, buts, and maybes surrounding the coronavirus situation, be it a reduced crowd or no crowd on race days.

"Reduced or no crowds would have a very significant impact on racecourses. It's not just racecourses but everyone else involved in racing and the local economy for tracks.

"It doesn't matter which sporting event it is, it's going to impact everybody involved. But we've got to be safe and do everything we possibly can under the guidelines to ensure we get rid of this pandemic as soon as we can."

Of those in attendance at Uttoxeter, several racegoers expressed their hope that racing would at least go ahead behind closed doors if restrictions were put in place. Trainer Martin Keighley echoed those sentiments.

Keighley said: "It would be a disaster for a lot of businesses in the sport if there's a ban on racing. I'm hoping we can continue behind closed doors so the show is kept on the road."