Ireland To Race On With Restrictions

Irish horse racing has been given the go-ahead to continue behind closed doors with “greater restrictions” and without any overseas runners.

Citing the need to maintain income and employment for people working in the industry, the board of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) came to the decision during a meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

“These are unprecedented and sombre times and we are seeking the best ways to support the racing community and industry throughout what lies ahead,” said Nicky Hartery, chairman of Horse Racing Ireland. “Health and welfare of employees and industry participants is the prime consideration and within that context, we have introduced protocols which can allow racing to continue and thousands of families who rely on the sector to maintain a livelihood. This will be kept under review on a daily basis and we are also planning measures for reprogramming fixtures as it becomes required. Changes to the programme will be separately announced.”

As the season progresses, those changes will reflect the fact that Wednesday's decision includes the fact that no evening or double meetings will be allowed take place, the maximum of one meeting per day designed to reduce the impact on medical resources. No owners will be allowed to attend and jockeys' weight allowances will be increased by 2lb from Friday owing to the fact that they will not be allowed to use racecourse saunas.

Hartery added, “We have consulted with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine throughout this process and we will continue to strictly adhere to the Government and HSE advice.  We have made it clear at all times that our medical facilities and personnel will be available for the Government to use if necessary – that will take precedence above any other consideration.”

On Monday, France and Germany had followed the example set by Italy and Spain in bringing racing to a temporary halt as those countries brought in stricter restrictions for residents. Britain adopted the same policy on Tuesday, stopping all racing until at least the end of April. At present, racing in France and Germany is off until mid-April.

“This is clearly a rapidly changing situation and Horse Racing Ireland will continue to liaise with the relevant Government Departments and with our health advisors,” said HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh.

“The executive sub-committee of Horse Racing Ireland and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board is meeting daily to assess the situation, and the Board of Horse Racing Ireland will continue to convene as required.

“Racecourses by their nature offer opportunities for social distancing that few other workplaces can. Nothing in Irish life is as it was a week ago, and in the same way, these are not race fixtures as we previously knew them, they are big open-air sites with very few people present and nobody on site if they are not involved: once a jockey or trainer has finished their business for the afternoon, they are required to leave. Furthermore, we have carried out risk assessments according to each individual racecourse facility, and some fixtures may be subject to greater restrictions and limitations to ensure social distancing is easily achievable and maintained.”

He added, “The board paid tribute to the flexibility shown by stable staff, jockeys, trainers, owners and employees of the IHRB, HRI, the media and broadcasters. Strict measures were imposed on them almost immediately last Friday but their actions, care and vigilance have ensured that social distancing is being observed and racecourses continue to be a safe working environment.”

The next racing fixture in Ireland is an eight-race all-weather meeting at Dundalk on Friday evening, while the turf season will start on Sunday at Naas, which gets underway with the first 2-year-old race of the year in Europe.

Irish Fixture Schedule Changed

After it was confirmed that racing would go on in Ireland, a new fixture schedule was released by Horse Racing Ireland. The following meetings were rescheduled through Mar. 29:

Mar. 20: Dundalk (afternoon)
Mar. 21: Thurles
Mar. 22: Downpatrick
Mar. 23: Naas (from Mar. 22)
Mar. 24: Clonmel
Mar. 25: Dundalk (afternoon from Mar. 27)
Mar. 26: Cork
Mar. 27: Navan (from Mar. 28
Mar. 28: The Curragh (from Mar. 29
Mar. 29: Limerick
Trainers are advised that entry and declaration dates for the rescheduled meetings are likely to have changed. For more information, go to www.hri.ie.