Doncaster St Leger Festival crowd pilot: How many spectators will be admitted and how do you get tickets?

The four-day meeting at Town Moor – to be held from September 9-12 – has been awarded ‘pilot status’ to trial the return of the crowds to live sport, it was announced earlier today.

Doncaster Racecourse has now confirmed how many spectators will be able to attend, ticket information and published a St Leger Festival 2020 Q&A detailing all the arrangments for the meeting.

There will be a maximum of 3,640 general admissions on the Wednesday, rising to 6,202 general admissions for the following three days.

All tickets must be purchased in advance via www.doncaster-racecourse.co.uk and will be available to buy from Friday, August 28.

Mark Spincer, managing director of Arena Racing Company’s Racing Division, said: “We are delighted that the Government and Local Authorities have taken the decision to allow us to pilot the return of a crowd at Doncaster Racecourse. We were very proud to host the return of racing behind closed doors at Newcastle at the beginning of June and are grateful to the Government for showing confidence in us to host this event.

“As with all sport and other live events, welcoming a crowd is absolutely fundamental to our business as well as being the heart and soul of the spectacle. The team at Doncaster have worked incredibly hard on making sure that we have all of the steps in place to welcome a limited number of spectators in a safe and efficient manner and we are really looking forward to welcoming people back on site to enjoy four excellent days of racing.

“The event is, of course, a pilot so the experience may be different than customers may have got used to in previous years but we are putting everything in to making sure that our customers can have an enjoyable afternoon’s racing as well as offering valuable feedback to the process of allowing crowds back to sporting events more generally.

“The impact of the national lockdown has been immense on the racing industry, as it has been to all sports and live events businesses. Whilst we have been delighted to get back to work behind closed doors, our industry and many others rely massively on crowds, so to get this pilot event is a huge step in the right direction for all of us.

“I would particularly like to thank our colleagues at BHA, the Racecourse Association, other racecourses and everyone across the sport who have been particularly helpful in sharing ideas and expertise at this difficult time. We know that we may still be subject to the vagaries of the current situation beyond our control, but we will ensure that we get the elements that are under our control right and that our customers can enjoy coming racing once again.”

Rt Hon Dame Rosie Winterton, MP for Doncaster Central, said: “The St Leger Festival is a hugely important event for Doncaster and the region and, having lobbied the Sports Minister to support the bid, I am delighted that it has been approved to host a pilot event for the return of crowds.

“I very much look forward to Doncaster playing host to what will be such an important step forward for not just the Racecourse but for the racing, sports and live events industries as a whole.”