Chelmsford optimistically looks forward to hosting its first morning meeting in racing.

Lingfield had originally planned to hold the first of six morning meetings in 2024 as part of its three-day Winter Million festival on January 20. Due to bad weather causing the cancellation of Premier racedays at Ascot and Haydock, as well as a card at Taunton, the meeting was rescheduled to the afternoon. Neil Graham, the track’s director of racing, spoke positively about the concept, stating that the fields are strong and expressing excitement about the competitive racing. Owners and trainers showed support for the earlier fixture with nearly maximum fields in some of the races.

The last of seven races is scheduled to take place at 1:05pm, and the track will not be open for racegoers to watch the Randox Grand National from Aintree at 4pm. Graham hoped that the popularity of the Grand National would draw attention to the other meetings taking place on Saturday. Graham also mentioned that ticket sales and restaurant reservations for the event have been encouraging, and a breakfast offering will be available. The decision to create a protected window between 2pm and 4pm for Premier racedays on Saturday, in an effort to increase viewership and betting turnover, resulted in six meetings being rescheduled to the morning for 2024 and 35 to later afternoon slots.