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- Traditional Saturday races delayed by 24 hours due to funeral of the late Duke of Edinburgh
The Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials Weekend returns to Newbury Racecourse on April 16-18, when seven of the meeting鈥檚 14 scheduled races will be sponsored by the UAE airport retailer.
These races include two of the Group 3 contests on Friday and Sunday 鈥� the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes and the Dubai Duty Free Stakes.
The meeting has again attracted the support of many of the sport鈥檚 leading owners, with the UK鈥檚 Queen Elizabeth II, Shadwell Estate Co., Dubai鈥檚 Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and Godolphin all represented among the entries for Dubai Duty Free (DDF) sponsored races.
Traditionally staged over two consecutive days, the second day of the meeting has been delayed by 24 hours as a mark of respect for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose funeral takes place in Windsor on Saturday afternoon.
FASTFACT
Traditional Saturday races delayed by 24 hours due to funeral of the late Duke of Edinburgh.
鈥淲e are fully supportive of the Newbury executive鈥檚 decision to transfer Saturday鈥檚 racing to Sunday, and offer our sincere condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the British Royal family at this very sad time,鈥� said Colm McLoughlin, executive vice president and CEO of DDF.
Horse racing in the UK continues behind closed doors until May 17 at the earliest, denying the DDF senior management team the opportunity to attend for only the second time in the company鈥檚 26-year history of sponsorship at the Berkshire course.
鈥淲e were sad not to be able to attend the DDF International Weekend last September due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions, but once again we will be watching from Dubai and wish all owners and trainers success with their horses at this year鈥檚 renewal of the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials Weekend,鈥� added McLoughlin.
Newbury Racecourse CEO Julian Thick said: 鈥淭he Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials Weekend heralds the start another exciting season of Flat racing at Newbury and we are very grateful to (DDF) for their continued support.
鈥淚t鈥檚 disappointing not to be able welcome (their) team to Newbury this time, but through our broadcast partners ITV and RacingTV, we hope they will be able to enjoy a spectacular weekend of racing.鈥�