Crowds of up to 500 people will be possible at Irish racecourses, after the Irish government announced the latest COVID-19 rules on Tuesday. Ireland is at stage 2 in the government's coronavirus alert, which allows for 200 more people at racecourses than previously. If Ireland reaches stage 1, 500 people would allowed, up from 200. If the pandemic worsens and reaches stage 3 or stage 4 in the new grading system, racing would once again go behind closed doors. At stage 5, racing, along with other sports, would cease.
“It's not a sustainable number for a lot of racecourses but there's provision in the legislation to engage on those issues and we will do so in the coming weeks on that,” Horse Racing Ireland's Brian Kavanagh told Racing Post. “A total of 200 will probably allow owners and 500 doesn't give much more leeway but we'll look at that over the course of the coming days. We've followed government guidance throughout this process and will continue to do so.”
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