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John Oxx feels the rescheduled Flat season could run into November and that owners deserve to have a ‘full number of meetings’, if possible.
The coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to all types of racing in the UK and Ireland and with the rest of the National Hunt season already cancelled, the focus will now turn to the flat campaign.
Racing in Ireland stopped on March 23 and Oxx, a nine-time Irish Classic winning trainer, believes it would be a mistake for racing officials to try and condense the Flat into just a few months.
The 69-year-old said: “There is no need for us to try and shoehorn the entire season into just a few months. There are plenty of blank days during the summer as well and I think, if we run a few more eight-race cards, the calendar could be run more or less in its entirety.”
Oxx went on to add: “I know it’s not simple but there is certainly scope for us to carry on much longer as the Flat season used to go on well into November up until recently.
“What racing needs is all of the races to be run and all of the prize-money dished out. Owners by nature are very patient people. They are happy to wait and you want to reward owners for their patience by running the full number of race meetings and fixtures.”
