The British Horseracing Board has announced that the 1999/2000 National Hunt season will run from Thursday, June 3rd 1999 to Whitbread Gold Cup Day on Saturday, April 29th 2000. The dates will be formally promulgated in this week’s Racing Calendar.
Ending the National Hunt season with the Sandown Park highlight was one of the core recommendations in the recently published report of the BHB’s National Hunt & Fixtures Review Group.
At its first meeting, an Implementation Group chaired by the BHB’s Racing Director, Paul Greeves, agreed that one of its priorities must be to settle arrangements for the following National Hunt season (2000/2001), including the question of whether there should be a distinct season for summer jump racing as recommended in the Review Group’s report.
The National Trainers’ Federation, Jockeys Association and Amateur Jockeys Association are being asked to provide their final thoughts on championships. Arrangements for novice horses also need to be settled. Initial thoughts among members of the Implementation Group are that special provision will be made for horses winning for the first time in April 2000 so that these horses can retain their novice status until the end of September. Horses winning after the start of the 2000/2001 NH season will of course remain novices for the duration of that season.