Michael Vesper

The planned resumption of German racing on Monday, May 4, will now be delayed after Dortmund racecourse was forced to scrap its opening meeting following regional government intervention. On Saturday morning, Deutscher Galopp released a statement confirming that racing would not be able to proceed as planned despite the fact that the racing authority had previously secured permission to race behind closed doors under Germany's Animal Breeding Act. Deutscher Galopp president Michael Vesper said, "It is a real shame that Dortmund cannot resume racing after a break of almost two...

Dortmund Racecourse will hold the first German race meeting since the coronavirus halted racing in that country earlier this year, Galopponline.de reported on Thursday. Racing was originally scheduled to resume on May 1, but government regulations have prevented three meetings-Hannover (May 1), Mannheim (May 2) and Cologne (May 3) from going forward. It is hoped they will be rescheduled beginning on May 5th. "We have worked a lot in the past few days and have been in constant contact with governments, local authorities and the racecourses since then, Michael Vesper,...