Jockey Tom Marquand believes British authorities could do worse than follow in the footsteps of their Australian counterparts when racing does resume
Horse racing in Australia has managed to continue largely unaffected, despite the current coronavirus pandemic shutting down the majority of sports across the globe.
Authorities in Australia have put in place certain safeguards in order for the sport to continue, including checking jockey’s temperatures and staging meetings behind closed doors.
Marquand has recently returned from a very successful 11-week stint Down Under in which he rode 26 winners, including two Group 1 successes, the highlight of which was him guiding Addeybb to victory in the Queen Elizabeth at Randwick.
Marquand, who is currently self-isolating, says the systems put in place Down Under shows racing can carry on during the pandemic and hopes British authorities will follow their example when given the green light to resume.
Marquand told the Daily Mail: “The best way of putting it is ‘surreal’ but I don’t think it takes away from the achievement and satisfaction in winning. Even though there is no crowd, it had still taken the same amount of time and effort from everyone involved. There were presentations and everything carried on as normal except social distancing was observed.
“All sorts of rooms were used but they were near the necessary facilities like showers and toilets and there was a drinks fridge in each room. We were temperature tested on arrival at the track.
“Testing was the same for everyone who entered the racecourse. There was a list of everyone who was meant to be at the track. Anyone not on the list was not allowed in.
“I’m far from a medical expert but it showed a system like that can work. It’s hopefully something we can base racing around to get us off the ground.”
