Racing at Dortmund Could Resume May 4

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting nearer for European racing as Germany is planning to resume action May 4 following positive talks between racing authority Deutscher Galopp and government officials.

Germany will join France, which confirmed April 21 it plans to resume racing behind closed doors May 11.

An initial start date of May 1 had been floated, but that had to be put back because of political restrictions. Deutscher Galopp president Michael Vesper is confident, however, that racing will resume on the new planned date.

"We have worked a lot in the past few days and have been in constant contact with governments, local authorities, and the racecourses since then," he said. "We are also deliberately focusing on this week because we would then have the advantage that not much else is happening elsewhere, so we hope to boost betting turnover."

The switch means Dortmund will be the first track to host racing since the coronavirus brought it to a halt last month, with the meetings originally scheduled to take place May 1-3 at Hanover, Mannheim, and Cologne possibly being rescheduled in the following week between May 5-8.

"On race days without an audience, it is not so important that they take place at the weekend," Vesper, quoted on galopponline.de, added. "It is fundamentally permitted to hold events such as race days again from May 4. The regulations apply until May 3. We are now preparing to start then and talk to the municipalities and those who do have to decide."