Racing: No spectators at carnival but racing chief hopeful

V'landys will seek government advice in relation to whether to allow fans into country race meetings. Photo / 123RF

As Racing NSW supremo Peter V'landys confirmed the rich Sydney autumn carnival will be run without spectators, he indicated there was "more hope" racing could continue with the coronavirus pandemic than there was under the equine influenza outbreak in 2007.

The EI outbreak in 2007 cost the industry more than $500 million in lost TAB betting turnover when racing, including the Sydney spring carnival, was cancelled for months and the industry was forced to its knees, reports Racenet.

The 2020 Sydney autumn carnival, including this Saturday's Golden Slipper raceday with its five Group Ones, will have Sydney's top tracks looking like ghost towns with V'landys revealing Racing NSW would ban spectators.

It follows the Federal Government advice to avoid gatherings of more than 500 people, to try and halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, and comes after All-Star Mile day at Caulfield was run in front of an all-but empty racecourse.

However V'landys told Racenet there were currently no thoughts of shutting down racing entirely — he feels, and hopes it won't come to that.

V'landys — also chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission — feels racing could be in a different position to other sports.

However he does concede it is a fast-moving situation and therefore he has not entirely discounted the possibility racing could be cancelled.

"Not at this point, there are no thoughts of shutting down racing, if it is in closed stadiums or closed racecourses it minimises risk," V'landys said. "We need to put in the best biosecurity measures for the jockeys and participants so if someone catches it we are on top of it.

"If people in racing do get it you can isolate those people and then test the others and then replace them.

"If it's rugby league and you've got 13 players you can't replace all them.

"But if it's a jockey, we are just going to have to put extra biosecurity measures in place and we are looking at that at the moment.

"But I will say this changes on a daily basis and it changes no matter what your best objectives are."

While V'landys has said the ARL Commission will move to provide a financial rescue package to clubs, he says at this stage he hasn't spoken to the Federal Government in relation to a potential package for racing in the wake of the coronavirus spread.

"I've got to say as far as the community is concerned this is much more massive than EI but as far as the racing industry is concerned it is not as bad because EI shut us down — there was no other choice," V'landys said. "I think there is more hope here to continue racing than there was during EI.

"At this stage though we haven't talked to the government. With racing our prime source of revenue is wagering and if you can continue to run races in empty stadiums the financial impact on us isn't as bad.

"A body like the Australian Turf Club naturally, it will have a bigger hit on them than everyone else because they do have massive sponsorships, catering and they plan for large crowds."

V'landys will seek government advice in relation to whether to allow fans into country race meetings.

"We will run the Sydney carnival but we will run it without spectators," V'landys said. "We are going to get advice off the government in relation to country tracks, as at so many of these country courses there would be less than 500 people on course anyway."