Horse Racing Ireland

Irish racecourses can host up to 50% of their outdoor capacity beginning on Sept. 6 following the Irish Government's latest COVID-19 response roadmap, Horse Racing Ireland announced on Thursday. Racecourses may also utilise 60% of their indoor capacity for hospitality purposes should attendees consume food and beverages indoors as long as they provide evidence of their Digital Covid Vaccine Cert (DCC). Attendance in both spheres will be increased to 100% as long as all covid restrictions are lifted on Oct. 22. Regarding Irish Champions Weekend on Sept. 11 and 12,...

Paddy Walsh, chief executive officer of the Association of Irish Racecourses, has said his "members are frustrated" as tracks continue to be restricted to very limited crowds. While British racecourses are back at full capacity and other sports and sectors in Ireland are seeing restrictions eased, Irish racecourses remain limited to 500 patrons, with exceptions made to allow 1,000 at the Irish Derby meeting and the Galway Festival. Horse Racing Ireland is seeking exceptions to allow larger crowds at next month's Harvest Festival at Listowel and Irish Champions Weekend, and...

Six-month statistics for horse racing and breeding in Ireland shows underlying growth in the industry despite the ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report was released by Horse Racing Ireland on Thursday. The metrics of horses in training (+24%), owners (+23.9%), new owner (+31%),  runners (+23.8%), fixtures (+8.4%), and race numbers (+14.6) have all shown strong growth over the corresponding pre-pandemic figures for 2019. Attendance at Irish racecourses was the major area where figures suffered, as there has been no public attendance at any racemeeting in Ireland for...

The first winner of Horse Racing Ireland's IRE Incentive Scheme in Britain was Imperial Fighter (Ire) (The Gurkha {Ire}) in the British European Breeders' Fund EBF Maiden S. at the Qatar Goodwood Festival on Saturday. The owner, Michael Blencowe, was awarded a €10,000 IRE Incentive voucher to spend on Irish-breds at Irish sales because Imperial Fighter is an Irish-bred. The IRE Incentive Scheme has now awarded a total of €450,000 in Irish sales vouchers to 36 individual owners since its inception in March of 2021. Additional British-based races that will...

The EBF Maiden S. at Glorious Goodwood on Saturday will be part of Horse Racing Ireland's IRE Incentive scheme, meaning a €10,000 Irish sales voucher will be up for grabs for connections of an Irish-bred winner. The vouchers, of which €440,000 worth have been paid out since the scheme launched in March, are redeemable for Irish-bred yearlings at Irish public auction sales. "Great Britain is by some distance the biggest export market for Irish Thoroughbreds and it is important to expand the IRE Incentive there," said Charles O'Neill, chief executive...

Longines Irish Champion S. Day at Leopardstown on Sept. 11 will be a World Pool event, marking the first time Irish racing will participate in the World Pool. Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, which owns Tote Ireland, said, "Irish Champion S. Day at Leopardstown--day one of the Longines Irish Champions Weekend--is a showcase day in Irish racing, and Horse Racing Ireland welcomes its inclusion in World Pool. The addition of Irish Champion S. Day is a first for Irish racing and is both great news for Irish...

The last of a series of Oireachtas Hearings into horse racing in Ireland concluded on Tuesday with representatives of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine the latest to answer questions. The independence of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) was a topic of discussion among deputies. Representatives of the IHRB were involved in two sessions this month along with Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), while the Irish Racehorse Trainers' Association (IRTA) were also invited to meet the joint Oireachtas committee. This followed a number of high profile comments made...

The Weatherbys ePassport has gone live for the British and Irish Thoroughbred markets, with the first foal to be issued with its passport a colt by Calyx born on Feb. 14 at Julian Richmond-Watson's Lawn Stud. In the coming months, every Thoroughbred born in Britain and Ireland this year will receive its passport. The Weatherbys ePassport is a single, secure platform for all regulatory and legislative requirements relating to identification, health, welfare, movement and ownership. Elements of the Weatherbys ePassport are already in use in Britain, Ireland and other jurisdictions....

The first hearing of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board in front of a Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine began in Ireland on Thursday, with the IHRB defending itself rigorously. The IHRB has come under pressure recently regarding concerns over doping in Irish racing following Irish trainer Jim Bolger's claims in a newspaper interview that there would be a "Lance Armstrong" moment in the Irish industry. Irish Government committee members asked questions of Horse Racing Ireland's Chief Executive Brian Kavanagh, IHRB Chief Executive Denis Egan and IHRB Chief...

The second season of the "Horse Racing Heroes" podcast will be sponsored by Horse Racing Ireland. The podcast, which focuses on one equine hero per episode, is compiled and presented by racing fan Mark Walsh. Found on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify, the first episode of season two focused on Faugheen (Ire) (Germany), while the second episode out on July 7, is on Hardy Eustace (Ire) (Archway {Ire}). Yet to come are podcasts on Finian's Rainbow (Ire) (Tiraaz), Mister Benedictine (GB) (Mister Baileys {GB}), Brown Panther (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}), The...

Funded through Horse Racing Ireland's Industry Education and Training Department, EQUUIP--the services offered through the Industry Assistance Programme (IAP)--have been re-configured to an Individual Assistance Programme and expanded to provide a racing and breeding specific support network. The IAP, offering support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year via phone and online chat, is confidential and free to use. The programme offers a wide variety of services including emotional support, financial advice, legal information, bereavement counseling and medical information. Originally launched in 2016, the IAP...

After he expressed concerns in the press earlier this month about alleged doping practices in Irish racing, this year's G1 2000 Guineas and G1 Irish 2000 Guineas-winning trainer Jim Bolger has been invited before an Irish parliamentary committee on July 6 alongside representatives of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, Horse Racing Ireland, the Department of Agriculture and the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association to discuss the matter. Bolger last autumn described the use of performance-enhancing substances as the "number-one problem" facing Irish racing, and expanded on those claims in a series...