🏇 PONTEFRACT HORSE RACING SYSTEM -- 2020 SEASON -- MEETING #7 17th SEPTEMBER

PONTEFRACT SEASON 2020.
Welcome to the next instalment of our online coverage for the second half of the season here at Pontefract. Horse racing meetings around the country continue behind closed doors so we will continue to cover things as best we can here and then update if/when the guidelines change. 

Official Statement from Pontefract Racecourse regarding Coronavirus; 
*The information below is correct at 5pm on Tuesday 11th August and will be updated as and when further information is available and/or updated advice is received.*

At Pontefract Racecourse the safety and welfare of our visitors, racegoers, participants and team is paramount. We are keeping up to date with the latest information and advice from the Government and the British Horseracing Authority and have a team ready to implement recommended actions. We have been allocated 6 race meetings 'Behind Closed Doors'. This means that there will be no public in attendance and race meetings will be open to jockeys, trainers and officials only.
 
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have now allocated further fixtures through to the end of the year, this means that there are an additional four fixtures for Pontefract to add to those already announced, we've had five meetings this season and there will be five more till we end on 19th October, therefore we've sadly lost six meetings from the usual calendar, under the current guidance these meetings will still be scheduled 'behind closed doors'.
These will be on:
  Friday 14th August
  Thursday 17th September 
  Thursday 24th September
  Monday 5th October
  Monday 19th October
The season has received it's final set of fixtures for 2020 and instead of the usual 16 races through the year we have to settle with just the 10. Still better than nothing and we of course continue the racing here at Pontefract behind closed doors. This is the seventh of the revised schedule due on Thursday 17th September where the 1st race will be a 6f novice contest due off around 13:15pm. 

Our feature race today is the 6f Fillies Handicap (14:20) won last year by Lady of Aran (pictured above) trained by Charlie Fellows and ridden by Stephen Donohoe. It's a seven race card for Thursday afternoon and as usual ALL of our results for these fixtures are recorded to a level stake at Starting Price (SP), and will also show any forecast results too in the daily results but these do not count for the profit / loss figures. After the first six meetings of the season despite managing a few winners but sadly not quite enough and thus we carry forward a loss of -25.165 points to SP as we look ahead to this seventh meeting of the reduced season today.

Hopefully we can come racing again soon ladies

A link to this afternoon's race card can be found here

Going and Weather Details

The going for the next race meeting behind closed doors on Thursday 17th September is currently 'Good [Good to firm in places]' following a relatively dry week, which is expected to continue over the weekend and into Thursday with a top temperature of 17C at the track, although we'll be dry and warm at home of course. Here are our selections for the eight races on Thursday afternoon, remember it's a very simple selection process using stalls one and two in every race;

13:15  Napoleons Casino Bradford Novice Stakes

6f  [Class 5  12 Runners]

(1) - Furniture Factors  [10th 150/1].

(2) - Space Kid  [5th 20/1].

13:45  Like Racing TV On Facebook Apprentice Handicap

6f  [Class 5  9 Runners]

(1) - Nordic Fire  [6th 20/1].

(2) - Production  [3rd 3/1].

14:20  British EBF Premier Fillies' Handicap

6f  [Class 2  7 Runners]

(1) - Gale Force Maya  [2nd 6/4f].

(2) - Auchterarder  [5th 11/2].

14:50  Madam Lilibet Handicap

2m 1f 27y  [Class 5  7 Runners]

(1) - Good View  [WON 11/2].

(2) - Red Tornado  [2nd 10/1].      f/c £58.20

15:20  Racing TV On Sky Channel 426 Handicap

1m 2f 5y  [Class 4  9 Runners]

(1) - Archie Perkins [Non Runner].

(2) - Highwaygrey  [WON 11/8f].

15:50  Go Racing In Yorkshire Maiden Stakes

1m 4f 5yds  [Class 4  6 Runners]

(1) - Red Derek  [3rd 10/1].

(2) - Duck and Vanish  [2nd 11/10f].

16:20  Matty Bown Handicap

1m 6yds  [Class 4  15 Runners]

(1) - Garden Oasis  [WON 5/1].

(2) - Ulshaw Bridge  [2nd 9/2].      f/c £26.80

Staked -- 14 points.
Returns -- 15.875 points.     +1.875 today

Results will be updated during the afternoon and we will keep a season total as usual though sadly despite a successful meeting #6 we are down by -25.165 as we enter this meeting. Hopefully we can claw some of that back today, the winner in the last helped us just scrap into a small profit for the day, ever little helps, so after meeting #7 we are at -23.29.

Our next behind closed doors meeting here will be next week on Thursday 24th September, hope you stay safe and well and perhaps later in the year we can go racing again.