The UK racing sector is preparing to vote on a plan to resume operations as the true cost of its pandemic shutdown becomes apparent.

The board of directors of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) will meet this Wednesday to discuss the feasibility of lifting the suspension of racing events that was imposed on March 18 and was intended to run through April 30.

The BHA established a COVID19 Racing Industry Group, which in turn established a Resumption of Racing Group to figure out how to resume racing behind closed doors in a fashion that would be acceptable to horsemen, racecourses and other stakeholders.

This plan would then be pitched to the government, which last Friday indicated that there were no imminent plans to lift the current restriction on public gatherings of more than two people. (Ireland’s government recently extended its lockdown through May 5.)