The number of race meetings in Britain in 2019 will be 1,511, up three from this year. Jumps racing holds a slight majority with 39.4% of the fixtures; flat turf is 37.3% and all weather 23.2%. Those numbers mirror 2018 almost exactly. Next year's fixture list takes into consideration new initiatives including breaks for flat participants in March and November, and finishing times of no later than 8:30 p.m. for floodlit fixtures from September to December.
Additionally, to benefit both retail and digital betting operators, measures have been agreed to schedule floodlit cards to try and provide a more continuous and consistent betting product throughout the course of afternoon and evening racing, as well as the scheduling of a trial of 15 additional floodlit fixtures in the autumn to test the popularity of staging two such fixtures on the same evening with the betting public.
Nick Rust, Chief Executive of the BHA, said, “Producing a fixture list which strikes the right balance between sufficient support for all those who work so hard in racing, opportunities and rewards for owners and a compelling betting product to grow vital revenues for the sport has been a cross-industry effort. We hope that the 2019 Fixture List gives racing's participants and customer groups confidence that the sport is working together in their best interests, and its early publication will allow the industry, racecourses and bookmakers adequate time to plan for next year.”
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