IHRB

America Queen will aim to put a nightmare Irish Guineas trip behind her with compensation in the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot next month. Richard Hughes was left fuming after his Nell Gwyn runner-up was denied a run in the Curragh Classic on Sunday, with racecourse veterinary officials unhappy with her action at the start. This was despite Hughes providing X-ray evidence to show the Havana Grey filly was sound, obtained after similar concerns were raised by vets at Newmarket on her reappearance. Hughes threatened to boycott Irish racing in...

A free seminar on reducing the risk of fractures and other bone injuries in racehorses will be hosted by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) in The Club at Goffs on Oct. 2. The seminar, which will be delivered by internationally renowned Professor Chris Whitton, is aimed at trainers, owners, veterinarians and anyone involved in the care of racing Thoroughbreds. Whitton, who previously spoke on developing preventative training and management protocols for racehorses at Leopardstown in 2018, leads the Equine Limb Injury Prevention Programme, funded by Racing Victoria, the Victorian...

Trainer John 'Shark' Hanlon's 10-month suspension from training will begin on Dec. 1, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) Referrals Committee ruled on Thursday. The trainer of G1 King George VI Chase winner Hewick (Ire) (Virtual {GB}), Hanlon had appealed the IHRB decision with a potential deferral of the suspension until Apr. 1, but this request was denied. The Dec. 1 start date was the date given when his suspension was originally announced. The trainer was found to have acted in a manner that "caused significant prejudice to the integrity,...

John 'Shark' Hanlon, the trainer of last year's G1 King George VI Chase winner Hewick (Ire) (Virtual {GB}), has had his licence withdrawn for a period of 10 months and received a fine of €2,000 for "acting in a manner prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct, or good reputation of the sport", it was announced by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) on Thursday. The IHRB is said to have initiated an investigation on Sunday, June 16 after images appeared on social media which showed the carcass of a deceased...

Tony Martin, currently serving a three-month suspension, has been banned an additional two months and incurred a fine by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB). The additional suspension comes after his actions following Alphonse Le Grande (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire})'s Northumberland Vase win. Martin was originally banned for a six-month period--three suspended--for breaking anti-doping rules. Martin's sister Cathy O'Leary now holds his training licence, but Martin was present both before and after the race at Newcastle in the paddock, and appeared to be instructing rider Hollie Doyle. The trainer's...

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), in collaboration with the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRTA), will introduce enhanced pre-race veterinary checks for the Galway Plate and Galway Hurdle, which means that trainers will be requested to submit detailed medication records for their horses in those races prior to declarations. Arising from the ongoing work of the EIIRRR [Equine Injury in Irish Racing Risk Reduction] Project, the IHRB continues to evolve and enhance its risk-based approach, with the first significant change implemented being the ongoing expansion of the IHRB's existing raceday...

Entries are closing at noon on Thursday, July 4 for the next session of Irish EBF Barrier Trials. Operated by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) and backed by the Irish EBF and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), Trials are open to unraced two-year-olds and three-year-olds, with the next session due to take place at Dundalk Stadium on Monday, July 8. The Trials at Dundalk are run over five, six and seven furlongs. Trials are principally staged to meet the strong demand from overseas for quality unraced thoroughbreds out of Ireland,...

Billionaire Luke Comer lost an appeal against the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board to overturn a three-year-suspension of his training license, the organization confirmed in a statement Thursday. The suspension is scheduled to begin July 15. The three-person appeals body was chaired by Justice Peter Kelly in addition to Laurence McFerran and Dr. Paddy Molony. Suspended last September, the trainer was ordered to pay in excess of €750,000 in fines and legal costs after traces of the prohibited substances methandienone (MD) and methyltestosterone (MT) were found in 12 of his horses....

Veterinary regulatory and analytical experts gathered this week in Dublin for the biennial European Horserace Scientific Liaison Committee (EHSLC) conference.  Hosted by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, the conference began on Tuesday and concluded on Thursday and consisted of various working parties who held lengthy discussions relating to their expertise within the regulatory framework.  Delegates of racing regulators in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, Norway and Sweden were present, while members of the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), the Japanese Racing Association (JRA), the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU)...

A new equine anti-doping and medication control initiative was announced by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) on Thursday. The initiative underpins their commitment to the regulation of medicine use and zero tolerance of doping in horse racing on both sides of the Irish Sea. The IHRB and BHA are now formally conducting joint out-of-competition-testing operations across both jurisdictions. These inspections started this week with almost 250 samples taken from more than 120 horses that are entered for the upcoming Cheltenham Festival in an...

The final race of this year's three-race Corinthian Challenge is set to take place at Leopardstown on Saturday, Oct. 21. The Corinthian Challenge Charity Race Series provides aid to Injured Irish Jockeys and has raised in excess of €500,000 since its inception in 2016. Corinthians participate in three races during the course of the challenge, each time at a different racecourse. Kildare man Damien Moore is currently on top of the leaderboard with 17 points, followed by Michael O'Neill and Martina Dempsey with 10 points each and Katy Brown and...

Trainer Luke Comer has had his licence suspended for three years over positive drugs tests and ordered to pay over €750,000 in costs by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB). The billionaire owner-trainer, who is also a major sponsor of Irish racing under the Comer Group banner, has seven days to lodge an appeal.  The suspension will begin on January 1, 2024, and is the result of a long-running investigation carried out by the IHRB, with the regulator describing the case as "unprecedented".  As well as being ordered to pay...