YORK Racecourse has cancelled its big John Smith’s Meeting in July - and also its big Music Showcase weekend, due to have starred Pussycat Dolls and 80s icon Rick Astley.

The racecourse, which has already cancelled all meetings in May and June because of the coronavirus pandemic, says the British Horseracing Authority has now confirmed that meetings in front of a paying crowd should be cancelled nationwide for the period that includes York’s four scheduled July racedays.

It said this meant that both days of the John Smith’s Meeting, which were scheduled for Friday July 10 and Saturday July 11 and would normally attract many tens of thousands of racegoers, couldn't take place, and nor could both days of Music Showcase Weekend, on Friday July 24 and Saturday 25.

These were 'disappointing decisions', for racegoers, racing professionals and many in the city but public health must remain everyone’s priority.

It added that customers who booked direct with York Racecourse were entitled to a full refund but the revenue from gate receipts was vital to the ongoing well-being of the racecourse, and so racegoers were being asked to transfer their existing bookings to the summer of 2021.

It said the John Smith’s Cup Meeting would take place then on July 9 and 10, with Music Showcase Weekend on July 23 and 24.