Jumping on sand will not return

All-weather jumping, banished in March last year after a spate of equine fatalities, will not return, the British Horseracing Board has confirmed.

With punters starved of action by the freeze, calls have come for an increase in all-weather fixtures, including some under the National Hunt code.

Paul Greeves, the BHB's racing director, said: "The prospect of the return of all-weather jumping is nil. At one stage it produced four times the normal level of fatalities, which in turn was creating a high risk to jockeys. It would be tantamount to saying that money is more important than safety and welfare in racing."