Irish Grand National

The BoyleSports Irish Grand National will not take place in 2020, with prizemoney to be funneled to two of the winter's big staying handicap chases, the Ladbrokes Troytown at Navan on Nov. 8 and the Bar One Porterstown Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse on Nov. 29. Jason Morris, director of racing at Horse Racing Ireland, said, "The decision not to run the BoyleSports Irish Grand National was made to give owners and trainers as much notice as possible, and allows connections firm up their plans for the winter with some certainty....

The Board of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has agreed to conclude the 2019/2020 National Hunt season, effective immediately, with the spring festivals at Fairyhouse and Punchestown not to be rescheduled as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. "We have stressed throughout that Government and HSE guidelines around fighting Covid-19 must come first and racing will only be able to resume when the Government guidelines permit and when there is adequate medical cover in place to ensure that race meetings can be staged safely," said Nicky Hartery, Chairman of Horse Racing...