Golf
The players teed off at Wentworth on Thursday for the BMW PGA Championship, but play was halted as soon as the Queen’s death was announced. There is no play on Friday but the tournament resumed on Saturday.
The European Tour said in a statement: “She truly was an inspiration to people the world over. Out of respect for Her Majesty and the Royal Family, play has been suspended at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club for the remainder of Thursday and flags at Wentworth Club will be lowered to half-mast.”
Racing
There will be no racing on Saturday but the season’s last Classic, the Cazoo St Leger which was due to take place at Doncaster, will be centrepiece of a nine-race card at the Yorkshire course on Sunday as British racing continues to pay its respects to the Queen.
To mark what the British Horseracing Authority described as the ‘special bond’ between the sport an the Queen, owner-breeder and racing’s patron and friend for 80 years, all meetings were cancelled on Friday and the card at Doncaster, Chester, Lingfield, Chelmsford, Musselburgh and Ffos Las will not go ahead on Saturday.
Sunday’s scheduled meeting at Chepstow will take place along with a bumper card at Doncaster which will also include the Doncaster Cup but the meeting at Musselburgh has been called off because the Queen’s body will be resting in state in Edinburgh.
Julie Harrington, chief executive of the BHA, said: “Her Majesty the Queen’s affinity and bond with racing was enduring and unique, and a number of our sport’s participants have a close, direct relationship with her. It is out of respect for this and in sympathy with her family including King Charles III, that the sport has taken the decisioonto continue our suspension of fixtures into Saturday.
All racecourses racing from Sunday and over the mourning period will continue to make the Queen’s passing with tributes on-course. Flags will fly at half mast, jockeys will wear black armbands and a period of silence will be observed before the first race at each meeting. Further updates about programme changes around the funeral date will follow in due course.
