City Racing project set for spring lift-off in Cannes

Horse Racing

PA Sport Reporters
August 28, 2020 5:30 pm

Ambitious venture ‘working towards’ date at end of April.

City Racing is set to kick off on the streets of Cannes next spring.

The unique concept, which has the aim of staging meetings on the streets of iconic locations around the world, is pencilled in for the French Riveria city that is famed for its annual film festival.

The intention of the venture, which is led by the Queen’s grandson, Peter Phillips, with backing from various stakeholders, is to lay down a special all-weather surface – which can then be taken up again within 72 hours – to showcase racing to crowds in high-profile city backdrops.

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A dummy run of the surface was staged at Aintree in November 2018, with further trials taking place in Newmarket last November as organisers sought British Horseracing Authority approval.

While the project has not moved any further forward in Britain so far, French authorities have given the idea their backing and City Racing will now work towards a raceday in 2021.

Spokesman Johnno Spence said: “We have got the support of France Galop, which enables us to work with them moving forwards.

“There’s still lots to confirm, but we are working towards a date at the end of April or beginning of May next year in Cannes.

“For us, the key is getting one of these under our belts so that we can demonstrate how it will work. Talks have been taking place with a number of major cities, but everyone would like to see the concept in action.

“This is definitely a step forward for us. We now just have to pinpoint a date and make sure it doesn’t clash with any other major fixtures.”

With an international element seen as key to the event, the Covid-19 pandemic has slightly slowed progress in recent months.

Spence added: “It has been a long time getting to this point.

“We will obviously abide by any Covid restrictions in place. France has crowds on racecourses at the moment, so hopefully that will still be the case and international travel will be allowed, as we want the top international jockeys to be taking part.

“It’s obviously still a way off though and things seem to change so quickly.”