After an already incredibly tough year and whilst everyone remains delighted that the Derby has reached its final tonight, we are all aware that the government has again been deliberating as to how to respond to the increase in Covid cases.
As a result of the Prime Ministers address this evening, an English lockdown will now result in many people having to remain at home for a month commencing next Thursday and we await any official response from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as to racing continuing. The GBGB operational plan for racing at tracks has been extremely effective and applauded since we started back racing in June. Everyone involved with the sport and concerned with the plan has acted incredibly responsibly and adhered to government advice.
Like other elite sports, and based on our proven track record of responsible racing under Covid restrictions, I firmly believe that we, as a sport and as a workplace, should be allowed to continue under any wider restrictions, whilst again behind closed doors.
We will report back ahead of further conversations with officials at DCMS but in the meantime we ask everyone to remain united and optimistic that we can continue racing whilst being observant to overall public safety.
Mark Bird
Managing Director Greyhound Board of Great Britain
