Doncaster push for crowd pilot at St Leger meeting

Spectators watch the racing during ladies day of the St Leger Festival at Doncaster Racecourse on September 12, 2019. Photo by George Wood/Getty Images

Plans for pilots at Glorious Goodwood, the Snooker World Championship and county cricket had to be shelved when Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week postponed a further easing of lockdown restrictions for a fortnight.

York have cancelled plans for spectators at their four-day Ebor Meeting, which starts on August 19.

The St Leger Festival is scheduled for September 9-12.

Mark Spincer, Arena Racing Company’s managing director, said: "I will be putting forward that Doncaster becomes the next pilot. If York can’t now do it, the next big event would be the St Leger.

“We’ll do all we can and work with all the representative bodies to have the chance to have the next trial.

"The 14-day postponement in lifting restrictions would still give us the best part of four weeks to get ready.”