Racing in Britain is likely to carry on but behind closed doors, the sport’s regulatory authority the British Horseracing authority said.

The sport attracted criticism for allowing the showpiece Cheltenham Festival to go ahead last week with over 250,000 spectators attending despite the coronavirus outbreak.

Many of the Cheltenham racegoers were Irish, which provoked a social media backlash in Ireland, but racing authorities saying they were following British government advice in maintaining the meeting.