Horse Racing Ireland has published its 2021 fixtures list with 380 meetings, up from the originally scheduled 370 in 2020. The list contains 379 meetings with one designated as a floating fixture to be programmed when demand for opportunities is high. The 10 additional meetings include seven turf fixtures (including the floating fixture) and three all-weather meetings.
Jason Morris, HRI's director of racing, said, “The 2021 fixture list has very largely reverted to the original 2020 schedule with the number of blank Sundays being retained at six to help ease pressure on stable staff and trainers. As we all know, 2020 was severely impacted by the 11-week cessation of racing from Mar. 26 to June 8 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, after which it has featured a heavily revised schedule with 330 fixtures being retained overall.
“The HRI Board recognises the uncertain times we are facing, but wanted to produce a full-year fixture list at this stage to assist owners, trainers and racecourses with their planning. In the event that racing is disrupted or attendances are not permitted or heavily restricted for a prolonged period in 2021, it is recognised that revisions to the schedule may be necessary. In such circumstances, HRI will be flexible and respond to the circumstances as we find them with regard to dates, venues and codes of meetings; however the strong preference will be to run the full schedule of fixtures as published today.”
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