Cheltenham back in action

Cheltenham`s hunter chase meeting has been rescheduled for May 23rd, officials at the racecourse confirmed today.

The six-race card was set to have taken place on May 2nd but has been put back to allow new foot-and-mouth guidelines which permit racing to take place at Cheltenham to come into effect.

The meeting will be Cheltenham`s first fixture since the outbreak of foot and mouth disease which caused the cancellation of the Festival in March.

However, a decision has yet to be taken as to whether the card will feature the Foxhunter Chase from the ill-fated Festival programme.

Cheltenham`s commercial manager Peter McNeile said today: 'We`re taking some advice from the BHB and I expect we will be able to make an announcement next week.

'It would come within 10 days of the grand finale of the hunter chase season at Stratford and we need to decide upon what the best make-up of our card would be.'