Irish racing

The initial session of Irish EBF Barrier Trials gets underway July 5 at Dundalk Stadium. Beginning at 1p.m. (local time), a total of 10 Trials are scheduled, comprised of tests for unraced 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds over five-seven furlongs. Operated by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) and backed by Irish EBF and the IHRB, Trials are principally serve as formative trials for inexperienced horses. Notable Trial graduates include G1 Al Quoz Sprint winner A Case Of You (Ire) and G3 Gordon S. scorer Ottoman Emperor (Ire). Trials are available to view on...

Entries are open for Irish EBF Barrier Trials at Dundalk Stadium, to be held Tuesday, July 5, beginning at noon (local time). Operated by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) and backed by Irish EBF and the IHRB, Trials are open to unraced 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds and are run over five to seven furlongs. Trials, principally staged to offer a platform for unraced Irish Thoroughbreds, also serve as a learning experience for inexperienced horses. Notable Trial graduates include Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint winner A Case Of You (Ire) and Group 3...

One of the most valuable staying contests of the European season will be staged at the Curragh on Sept. 25 when the Irish Cesarewitch is run for a total prize find of €600,000. A group of supporters of Ireland's flagship racecourse have united under the banner of 'Friends of the Curragh' to back the prestigious two-mile contest in a three-year sponsorship commitment. The race will now take place earlier than usual, with permission having been granted by the European Patter Committee to move the G3 Loughbrown S. to a later...

Darragh O'Loughlin has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB). O'Loughlin will begin serving in his new role on June 29. Previously, O'Loughlin was the Secretary General of the Irish Pharmacy Union from 2013 until April of this year. He also served as a Council Member of the PSI (The Pharmacy Regulator) for six years and was a board member of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). Martin O'Donnell, Chairman of the IHRB, said, "Darragh brings an exceptional combination of regulatory expertise...

As part of the IRE Incentive Scheme, Curragh hosts the first juvenile race of the Irish racing season Saturday. The five-furlong test is sponsored by Castlefield Stud on behalf of G2 Mill Reef S. winner Alkumait (GB) (Showcasing {GB}--Suelita {GB}, by Dutch Art {GB}), who stands at the nursery for €5,000. Highlighting the sponsorship, the connections of the first season sire are offering a €100,000 bonus to the connections of the first black-type winner from the stallion's first crop of 2-year-olds. ''We have long-term ambitions, and we are going to...

The IRE Incentive scheme, an initiative designed to stimulate and fortify Irish Thoroughbred breeding, racing and sales, will expand to include over 200 races in Ireland and Britain in 2022, according to Horse Racing Ireland (HRI). The IRE Incentive scheme awards a bonus of €10,000 to owners of Irish-bred winners of selected races across the Irish and British Flat and National Hunt programmes, to be spent on Irish-breds at Irish sales. In its first year, the IRE Incentive scheme awarded over €1,000,000 to over 90 individual owners, contributing to more...

The Irish European Breeders' Fund will continue with their record sponsorship of €2.6 million in 2022. The second year contributing €2.6 million, it will bring the overall contribution to nearly €54 million since the formation of the Irish European Breeders' Fund in 1983. The spend encompasses nearly 500 races, both flat and National Hunt, that will carry EBF conditions throughout the year. "The owners of every stallion standing in Ireland, big or small, Flat or National Hunt, have contributed to this amount and as chairman, I'd like to thank them...

By Alayna Cullen and Emma Berry The start of the Irish Flat turf season is now only a matter of weeks away and one man who will be itching to make an impression this year is John O'Donoghue, the new trainer at one of Ireland's most revered stables, Currabeg.  Training at the yard from which John Oxx sent out so many top horses, not least Sea The Stars (Ire), Sinndar (Ire) and Ridgewood Pearl (GB), could bring with it a degree of pressure, but Oxx's successor prefers to view it...

A report on horseracing in Ireland found no evidence that doping regulations fall below international standards. The report, made by the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee, was prompted by allegations from trainer Jim Bolger that drugs are Irish racing's top problem. However, the report did make 11 recommendations, including that favourites and the top five finishers of each race be mandatorily tested via hair samples, as well as for random testing to occur. Another recommendation was for a review into the composition of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), to address concerns...

A streamlining of the claiming process for Irish claiming races, to speed up post-race procedures, has been instituted by Horse Racing Ireland and the new regulations will go into effect on Nov. 2. Pre-authorisation on the day of the race will be required for all potential claimants. The claimant's contact details, the name of the designated trainer for the horse they wish to claim, the name of the person responsible for collecting and transporting the claimed horse and the value of the horse they wish to claim should be submitted...

The LCA Work Skills pilot programme, hosted by the Irish National Stud, was launched on Aug. 7. An initiative of Together for Racing Ireland (TfR Ireland) under the umbrella of Together for Racing International (TfRI), the programme brought together students and teaching staff from Curragh Post Primary, Kildare Town Community School and St. Paul's Secondary School. Students were welcomed by INS CEO Cathal Beale at the Michael Osborne Centre, with Godolphin Managing Director Joe Osborne providing some insight into the Irish bloodstock industry. Jane Mangan was the guest speaker, while...

A total of 390 fixtures will be run in Ireland in 2022, with the fixture list published on Tuesday. There are 387 fixtures on the list at this stage with three 'floating fixtures' to be kept in reserve to be programmed at short notice by the Horse Racing Ireland Fixtures Committee. There will be 346 turf fixtures (up from 339 in 2021) and 44 all-weather fixtures (up from 41 this year). Six Sundays have been kept blank-Apr. 24, June 19, July 24, Aug. 28, Sept. 4 and Oct. 9, and...