As a mark of respect for the funeral ceremony of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, it has been agreed that no racing will take place in Great Britain between 2:45pm and 4:15pm on Saturday 17 April.
As a result, the Coral Scottish Grand National fixture at Ayr and the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials fixture at Newbury will now be moved from Saturday 17 to the afternoon of Sunday 18 April. Full race times will be finalised tomorrow.
Further arrangements for the race programme and fixtures scheduled for Saturday 17 April and Sunday April 18 will now be as follows:
- Fixtures at Bangor-on-Dee and Thirsk racecourses on 17 April moved to an early start so as to conclude by 14:45. Race times to be announced tomorrow.
- Fixtures at Brighton and Nottingham on 17 April to be staged on or near their planned start times, though minor race time adjustments may be announced tomorrow.
- There will be no ITV Racing broadcast on Saturday 17 April but they will broadcast on Sunday 18 April from 12.55 until 16.00 showing five races from Ayr and four from Newbury as planned on the main ITV channel.
- The Fridays of the Scottish Grand National at Ayr and Spring Trials meeting at Newbury will go ahead as planned on 16 April.
- Fixtures at Stratford and Wincanton will go ahead on Sunday 18 April as planned.
Races for both the Saturday and the Sunday will enter tomorrow, Monday 12 April, as initially scheduled.
British racing will continue to appropriately reflect the period of national mourning at fixtures through to Saturday 17 April, including wearing of black armbands and flags flying at half-mast.
