EXCLUSIVE BY OLIVER HOLT: There is a picture on the walls of the Lord Bagenal Inn that shows a group of men and women standing proudly in the main street beside a horse called Different Pace. 

Sire Du Berlais led home a Gordon Elliott one-two as he recorded back-to-back victories in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The British Horseracing Authority have closed their offices at High Holborn in London until further notice because some members of staff are self-isolating as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread.

Some of Britain's biggest Flat meetings, headed by the June jewels of Royal Ascot and the Epsom Derby, are shrouded in uncertainty after racing was shut down until the end of April.

Racing leaders said on Wednesday that they are putting together a financial submission for Government aid to try to avert a desperate financial crisis.

Writing on the GoFundMe page, Dettori said: 'Being here in the UK, it's difficult not to feel helpless as I see the impact the pandemic is having on the people of Italy.'

Marquand dictated the pace aboard Addeybb, who was last seen finishing second to Magical in the Champion Stakes last October and is a seven times winner in Britain.

There had been plans to stage the meeting behind closed doors, but despite participants taking part in routine exercise on Sunday morning, the announcement was made by the afternoon.

The BHA have postponed their consultation into the use of the whip while operation duties during the COVID-19 pandemic take priority.

The British Horseracing Authority have stood down 80 per cent of its staff in an emergency financial plan to cut a third of its normal monthly budget. Over 200 out of 260 staff will be furloughed from work.

It has been decided the 2019-20 titles should be awarded on the standings when the sport was shut down on March 17 with racing suspended due to the coronavirus.

New dates will now have to be sought for the four Classics, which are the 2,000 Guineas on May 4 and the 1,000 Guineas on May 5 at Newmarket, as well as the Oaks on June 5 and Derby on June 6.

The fund, co-ordinated by the Racehorse Owners Association, is part of a £22m cash flow and hardship funding package for racing announced on Friday.

The four-day Festival was staged as planned in front of 250,000 people, with additional hygiene measures in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, and concluded on March 13. 

A series of explosive emails from trainers calling for Nick Rust's resignation over the handling of the sport's response to the COVID-19 outbreak were published in a Sunday newspaper.

SAM TURNER (Robin Goodfellow) spoke to some successful horse racing professionals and sports bettors about their views and methods they endeavour to employ on a daily basis.

Racing aims to be one of the first sports to emerge from lockdown, with the British Horseracing Authority releasing a provisional list of big races it could run on the final two weekends of this month.

French racing moved a step closer to returning at Longchamp next Monday (May 11) after the French racing authorities were given permission to stage the meeting by Paris police.

EXCLUSIVE: When Aidan O'Brien-trained Anthony Van Dyck landed Britain's most prestigious Flat race last June, the colt scooped a first prize of £921,538 with the historic race worth a total of £1,623,900.

Andrea Pirlo has sued a man who pretended to be the Italian footballer for two years in order to receive free clothes and jewellery.

Daniele De Rossi, who left Roma at the end of last season after they announced they would not renew his contract, donned his new club colours for the first time in Buenos Aires.

Italy benefited from a generous hand ball decision and converted a late penalty for a 2-1 win at Finland to extend its perfect start to European Championship qualifying on Sunday.

The midfielder, now playing for Boca Juniors, retired from international football back in November 2017 after Italy's shock defeat to Sweden, which denied them a place at the 2018 World Cup.

The 33-year-old Italian midfielder has decided to hang up his boots after leaving Russian outfit Zenit Saint Petersburg as a free agent in the summer.

Italian media have widely reported that Napoli will fine the players between one quarter and one half of last month's wages after they rebelled against an order by club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.

Tonali will be the subject of a tug of war between Inter and Juventus, Italian media say, with the two clubs engaged in a 'chess game' after the Turin side beat them to the signing of Dejan Kulusevski.

Euro 2020 is under serious threat as the coronavirus continues to sweep its way across the world, with organisers of the championships monitoring the situation closely.

Italy is the worst affected country outside of China and the decision was made earlier in the week to suspend all sporting activity across the country until April 3.

The Serie A club confirmed their centre back Rugani has been infected by Covid-19 on Wednesday night and will undergo a period of isolation.

SHERIDAN BIRD IN ITALY: Italy's love for football is on another level. But there is no live action. No sport. Where does all that energy go, and with no matches to talk about, what are fans doing?

Juventus defender Daniele Rugani was the first Serie A player to test positive for Covid-19, just days after he was in the matchday squad for the club's win over Inter behind closed doors.

Serie A bosses are reportedly working out plans to resume training and hope to be playing by the end of May or the start of June, with each side still having 12 fixtures remaining.

The Gone Girl actress, 28, put her assets on display in the cleavage-baring gown as she arrived at the star-studded bash held in New York City's iconic Radio City Music Hall.

In 2016, she was nominated for Best Play for Eclipsed, a play she wrote. It made history as the first play with an all-black and all-female creative cast and team to premiere on Broadway.

Sunday night Samira Wiley left The Handmaid's Tale behind as she stunned during her arrival at the annual Tony Awards in New York city. The actress is Nylon magazine's newest cover star.

Jussie Smollett returned to social media for the first time since alleged hate crime attack to pay homage to Pride Month on Monday.

A new production of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, adapted by Aaron Sorkin, which is a hit on Broadway, will open in the West End in the spring, writes BAZ BAMIGBOYE.

The 79-year-old film legend from New York, who has scooped an Oscar and two Tony awards, now finds himself on a list of actors whose reviews have consistently spiraled over their career.

Hamilton debuted on August 6, 2015 and has gone on win 11 Tony Awards. And on Monday, the musical's creator Lin-Manuel Miranda revealed that Disney will be bringing the play to the big screen.

Selena Gomez was again feeling nostalgic as she took to Instagram to post another throwback photo of herself at about 2 years old. The singer, 27, poses with her hands placed at the side of her face.

Selena Gomez rocked a $29 T-shirt of Aaliyah on Saturday evening while spotted picking up some takeaway food and heading to a pottery painting class in Los Angeles with a friend.

Selena Gomez dropped a back-and-white video recorded entirely on iPhone for her new self-love song Lose You To Love Me.

Selena Gomez made history on Monday when she not only got her first number one, but became the first artist to get both a Billboard 100 and Rolling Stone 100 with Lose You to Love Me.

The 27-year-old pop star's new single Lose You to Love Me landed the No. 4 spot on first Billboard Hot 100 and it's currently topping Billboard's Streaming Songs chart

Her two latest music releases have put her at the top of the Billboard charts, for the first time in her career. And Selena Gomez isn't done making bold statements yet.

She may be one of the world's most admired stars, but it's her little sister that's surely her biggest fan. And Selena Gomez took sibling Gracie Teefey, six, to the premiere of Frozen II

The 27-year-old was 'putting a lot of pressure on herself' ahead of her return to the stage as the opener of the show at the Microsoft Theater, according to E! News .

There is potential new music on the horizon for The Weeknd. The singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye took to his Instagram on Monday evening to tease new music.ASCAP reports .

This sighting comes just hours after ex-boyfriend The Weeknd released his breakup song Heartless which seems to be about the former equestrian.

Selena Gomez was ready to be protective when she gave her six-year-old sister Gracie Teefey a red carpet debut at the Frozen 2 premiere last month.