ALL racing cancelled next Monday for The Queen’s funeral, BHA confirm
ALL racing in Britain will be cancelled next Monday for The Queen’s funeral.
Her Majesty’s favourite sport will come to a standstill to pay its respects to its most ardent supporter.
The Queen passed away peacefully aged 96 at Balmoral last Thursday.
Racing in Britain was cancelled mid-way through the Racing League meeting that same evening.
Her coffin is currently on its final journey ahead of the state funeral in a week’s time, when five major supermarkets are planning to operate on a reduced hours basis.
All racing was cancelled on Friday and Saturday, with the St Leger hosted at Doncaster as part of a huge nine-race card on Sunday.
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Racing in Ireland, where Highfield Princess was the star of the show on Irish Champions Weekend, continued.
Meetings were back to normal in Britain on Monday.
At all racecourses jockeys will wear black armbands, flags will be flown at half-mast and silences will be observed before the first race of the day.
A British Horseracing Authority statement read: “British racing will not go ahead on Monday, September 19 for the funeral of Her Late Majesty The Queen.
“This will give everyone involved in British racing the opportunity to mourn Her Late Majesty’s passing and offer thanks for her contribution to our sport and the nation.
“The fixtures on Monday 19 will therefore be cancelled.
“Further information will be shared with participants, racecourses and racegoers in the coming days.
“Racing will take place as scheduled throughout the remainder of the intervening period.”
Reports indicate Queen Consort Camilla is to inherit Her Majesty’s massive racing operation.
Camilla – who supported King Charles during his historic address to MPs and Peers on Monday morning – is expected to take over as a royal figurehead for the sport and assume oversight for The Queen’s stable of horses.
King Charles will formally inherit the Sandringham stud and ownership of Ascot racecourse.
But The Times report John Warren, the late Queen’s racing manager, sees Camilla as his ‘first port of call’ for all things racing.
It is a hugely important role, especially considering The Queen’s runners have earned more than £330,000 on the Flat alone this season.
Warren said last year that Camilla was ‘absolutely besotted by racing’.
Charles and Camilla are no strangers to the sport.
Their red and blue silks ran under the name of their old titles, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
But their success paled into comparison to that of the late Queen.
Charles and Camilla’s runners earned a total of £37,666 on the Flat over the past five seasons.
While The Queen’s have amassed £2.2million, the last of her runners being Improvise at Epsom last Thursday.