Harness racing fields increased to 10

HRV general manager of racing Stephen Bell said the decision would help the sport return to some sense of normality.

“We'll be taking a phased approach out of the region-based racing model and an announcement is expected later this week,” Bell said.

“From Thursday onward field sizes will be lifted to 10 horses a race.

“We've had an extreme number of ballots since the commencement of region-based racing, so we're really glad to now be in a position to increase that to 10.

“We've done a lot of hard work to keep racing in the last two months and we don't want to let that go to waste by rushing too quickly back to normal.”

Meetings will continue with only essential personnel at the track, with temperature checks and physical distancing measures also in place.

Bendigo will host the first meeting with increased fields on Thursday.

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