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.

Leading rider Jamie Spencer is facing sometime out of the saddle following an accident on the Newmarket gallops on Friday. The 39-year-old Irishman was returning to the David Simcock stable.

SPECIAL REPORT BY MARCUS TOWNEND: There is concern that ramifications of the coronavirus shutdown will be felt for years, rather than months, in the racing community.

Taking a serious view on the ante-post Classic markets is often a perilous enough exercise as it is without the current uncertainty on whether racing may or may not resume in the short term.

SAM TURNER (Robin Goodfellow) runs the rule over half a dozen of the more interesting British-trained fillies which may possibly take their chance in the 1,000 Guineas.

Britain's No 1 tipster, SAM TURNER (Robin Goodfellow) discusses half a dozen of the home contingent which could line up for the Derby that could be run some time during July.

Races will be restricted to 12 runners to comply with social distancing rules in plans to race behind closed doors next month. 

Britain's best-known Flat jockey has thrown his weight behind the Frankie Dettori raffle with the winner getting to own a horse for a day ridden by the Italian wearing colours they have designed.

The tight guidelines of the strictest scenario for a possible return to racing have been underlined with the selected racecourses operating as almost sealed sites.

Racing has produced a provisional list of big races it hopes to stage over the last two weekends of May in the hope that the sport has been given the go-ahead by the Government to return.

Newmarket trainer Amy Murphy says maintaining a routine has been key to keep a racing stable operating inside the COVID-19 shut down.

Victor Ludorum is the 5-6 favourite with Coral to maintain his unbeaten record in Monday's Prix De Fontainebleu at Longchamp.

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.

Gunners manager Unai Emery has just £45m to rebuild his squad this summer after his side missed out on Champions League qualification. ellegrini has a £27m buy-out clause in his deal.

Giacinti opened the scoring following a goalmouth scramble inside 15 minutes, while Galli double Le Azzurre's lead four minutes into the second half with a long range strike.

Mario Balotelli has reportedly landed himself in trouble with the Italian authorities after the former Manchester City striker allegedly paid a bar owner €2,000 to drive his moped into the sea.

Moise Kean is one of the exciting young players in the world; an Italian international, Serie A champion and important figure in the fight against racism, while still in his teens.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: The extremely-talented Juventus forward and Italy international is on the brink of sealing a £36million move to the Premier League, which would be a great coup by Marco Silva.

Moise Kean is one of the most exciting young players in the world; an Italian international, Serie A champion and important figure in the fight against racism, while still in his teens.

Luis Alberto's second-half equaliser earned Lazio a 1-1 draw with AS Roma in a fast and furious Rome derby in Serie A on Sunday. Aleksander Kolarov opened the scoring with a penalty.

Azzurri coach Roberto Mancini was enraged as his squad failed to produce any serious chances in the second half when it held a man advantage - until substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini scored.

The 25-year-old defender started the top-of-the-table Group J Euro 2020 qualifier against Finland at the Tampere Stadium. But left-back Emerson sustained the problem after just six minutes.

With Serie A returning after the first international break of the season, plenty of football fans will be turning their attention to a compelling round of fixtures in Italy. 

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.

Sean Dyche has quashed talk of Jay Rodriguez making a shock move to Inter Milan, branding it one of the strangest he has heard. Rodriguez only joined Burnley for £10million in the summer.

The former Arsenal star, who joined the Old Lady on a free transfer this summer, says he has been welcomed into the Turin-based side by the five-time Ballon D'or winner.

The Dutchman signed for the Italian giants for €75million (£67.8m) in the summer after captaining Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals with a series of colossal displays.

There is plenty at stake over the next fortnight with teams on the brink of qualifying for the European Championships in 2020, while some nations hit the road for some eagerly-anticipated friendlies.

The 24-year-old, who signed on a free from PSG, is said to be already considering his future in Turin having so far acted as Blaise Matuidi's understudy and appearing on four times this season.

Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina has detailed 'a passive radar device that uses directional microphones to determine the source of the noise' from offending supporters.

The Atalanta coach was furious after top scorer Duvan Zapata was ruled out of Atalanta's arduous Champions League trip to Manchester City with an abductor strain sustained with Colombia.

Napoli knew they could make up ground on second-placed Inter Milan, who drew 2-2 at home to Parma, and Juventus, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Lecce, but finished their afternoon crestfallen.

With a win meaning they would reclaim top spot Inter travelled to Brescia and comfortably beat the 18th-placed side, despite a late own goal from defender Milan Skriniar.

Jack Rodwell has reportedly entered talks with Parma regarding a surprise switch to Italian football. The free agent looked on course to sign for Roma, but the deal ultimately fell through.

Blaise Matuidi is reportedly set for a contract extension after playing an important role in a Juventus side which sits top of Serie A. The Frenchman has been with the club since August 2017.

Italy are meant to have lucrative a trip to Qatar in March that will include two friendly games as part of their preparations for the upcoming Euro 2020. But Roberto Mancini does not see this as tough enough.

Fiorentina playmaker Kevin-Prince Boateng has pledged to take his own measures to finally putting an end to vile racist abuse in football, by creating his own task force.

Serie A returns this week after six clubs were involved in midweek matches in Europe. Italy's top clubs excelled. Inter Milan, Juventus Atalanta all earned victories.

Darts sensation Fallon Sherrock is set to face former Italian striker Luca Toni in a celebrity darts tournament this month. Toni is one of six celebrities taking part in the event.

The 18-year-old Brazilian striker has an Italian passport, and whilst he admits it his 'dream' to represent Brazil, he told DAZN Brazil that he is keeping his options open at the moment.

For Inter Milan and Lazio fans, this is where they wanted to be, even if it may have been somewhat fanciful at the start of the season. But they meet on Sunday in a fierce title race with Juventus.

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.

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.

British stars Sam Mendes and Bertie Carvel took home two of the most coveted accolades at the Tony Awards 2019 on Sunday night in New York.

Driver is nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Play. He stars alongside Keri Russell in Burn This, the sexy drama about two strangers who are brought together over a mysterious death.

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.

The 50-year-old actress took the plunge in a peekaboo dress, which made the most of her slender figure

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

The 73rd Annual Tony Awards are well underway, and stars are arriving to the carpet. Regina King, 48, looked elegant in pink as she arrived at the red carpet at the show. It's hosted by James Corden.