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T SEEMS SUCH A LONG TIME AGO now since March, since essentially what will come to be known as the pre-COVID-19 era. Of course, by last March we had been watching lockdown in Italy, and some of us had been to Saudi Arabia when thought had been given towards the concept, “Should I be travelling?”, but still went anyway. In Saudi, there were some travellers from the Far East wearing face masks, there was already a feeling of some discomfort when stood in the busy airport halls, chats with press members from Japan confirmed that this Chinese thing from bats was not nice. But, in reality, life was not too affected. A couple of weeks later at Cheltenham things had stepped up a notch – hand sanitisers had been put out, though largely ignored by the throngs of racegoers – and chats there with German press assured us they had not been to Italy and they were healthy. There were rumours that this thing was a more than just a bad case of flu, large numbers f deaths had begun to be quoted. But, really, the magnitude of events to come were not envisaged by many. Then, life changed, and is still changed. Lockdown. Racing stopped, shops closed, no one could move, pubs and restaurants were empty, Big Brother was watching – and reporting – you. There was overriding fear for the health of vulnerable relatives. The dread of watching those press conferences and seeing death charts ever climbing. Sadly, some lost loved ones, opening up holes in personal lives that will never be filled. The reality of a global pandemic. And then things started to level and fall, and we began to see a brighter horizon. So… hey ho…lockdown it will be only six weeks, the British get-on-with-it attitude will see us through, the health issues will be under some control. We will be back to normality… no more fake enthusiasm for ridiculous home hobbies never to be attempted again, taking part in Raw Egg Challenges, becoming advocates of meetings by Zoom (“Who knew we could do this? Isn’t it great?” we enthused in digital glory)
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Lockdown. Racing stopped, shops closed, no one could move, pubs and restaurants were empty, Big Brother was watching – and reporting – you. There was overriding fear for the health of vulnerable relatives
or exercising like a lunatic with the dog in the sitting room, or stressing how businesses and jobs and work and livelihoods and relationships would survive. Racing returned, first in France and then the UK. All under the mantra of behind-closed-doors, and with a new look, once-in-a-lifetime programme book. There was some argument (as always in this industry) about the best way to go and some stomping of feet, but a way forward was found – Classic dates were reversed, NH racing stopped, Royal Ascot held firm, protocols put in place, no owners allowed. Ireland was a little later, but it got there too. So for the summer Flat season there was some resemblance of business as usual; the programme book found its way back to the routine that has been produced by two centuries of the sport. To all intents and purposes all was the same. Unless, of course, you were at the races. There you were struck by emptiness of stadia designed to hold lots and lots of people, and the importance that the interaction a swell of crowd-emotion can produce. Who knew we were such socially sensitive and emotive, pack creatures? We were born with incredible abilities – good vision, hearing, brains that can analyse and feel emotion… as human beings we seem to like to use them to the full. Of course, some professionals laughed and said how much they preferred the quieter environment, especially for debuting young horses, but it is not a sustainable situation. Professional sport is there for entertainment – racing is lucky as it can tick that off with its betting wings and its TV coverage, but it is there for personal participation, too. So the summer’s calls for crowds to be re-introduced grew, and plans for trial days were put in place... most were cancelled in the chiming of zero hour, but a handful of lucky Warwick regulars got to the races in September and can still claim honours as the only UK racegoers since March. As I write this we are back in UK lockdown, mirroring situations in France and Ireland; the idea that this pandemic was just a short to mid-term issue
