Chester’s Acceptance of Premier Racing Challenge: “It’s Felt Like We’ve Had to Do Unwanted Things

Disquiet over the cluttered July afternoon when her course races alongside John Smith’s Cup day at York, the July Cup meeting at Newmarket and Summer Mile card at Ascot was among the motivations for the radical fixture list changes currently being trialled. Only two richly endowed Premier meetings and one lesser ‘core’ card will be allowed to race during a window between 2pm and 4pm on most Saturdays.

This is in part an attempt to focus attention on the best racing and boost betting turnover and marketing opportunities.