Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board

The Industry Induction Programme, which will set a consistent standard for introducing new stable staff to horse racing, has been launched by Horse Racing Ireland's equuip and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) as announced via release Monday. The new online course will set a minimum standard of education for all new entrants into the industry and ties in with the continuing professional development and educations objectives of HRI's equuip and the IHRB. It will be mandatory for new recruits, and is a general introduction to the industry with topics...

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Hanlon, the trainer of last year's G1 King George VI Chase winner Hewick (Ire) (Virtual {GB}), has had his licence withdrawn for a period of 10 months and received a fine of €2,000 for "acting in a manner prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct, or good reputation of the sport",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...

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....

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...

Entries are now open for the Irish EBF Barrier Trials at Naas Racecourse scheduled for Monday, May 29. The trials, restricted to unraced juveniles and 3-year-olds, are operated by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) and backed by the Irish European Breeders' Fund (IEBF) and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB). The 2023 edition will be back on turf for the first time since 2019, and all the trials will be conducted over six and seven furlongs. Notable graduates of the trials include Group 1 winner A Case Of You (Ire) (Hot...

Trainer Charles Byrnes was hit with a massive €6,000 fine under the non-triers' rule following the running of Ellaat (GB) (Heeraat {Ire}) in a low-grade handicap on the Flat at Gowran Park on Wednesday evening. He was found to have breached the Rule 212A (i) by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) stewards who also slapped his jockey Gearoid Brouder with a 21-day suspension. Ellaat was also banned from running for 90 days. It is not the first time the multiple Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer has felt the wrath of Irish...

Trainer Kieran Cotter was fined €27,500 by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board Referrals Committee and must pay a further €7,500 in legal costs. One of his runners, Slade Runner (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}), tested positive for cobalt and the IHRB found further misconduct by the trainer following a yard inspection. Slade Runner won a Dundalk handicap in January and returned a cobalt reading higher than the international threshold. After the cobalt positive, there was a joint inspection of Cotter's yard by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) and...

Ireland's leading flat jockeys will have a four-week winter break after Horse Racing Ireland restricted three Dundalk meetings in early January to apprentices or jockeys or rode fewer than 20 winners last season. The meetings are Jan. 5, 7 and 14. Jason Morris, Horse Racing Ireland's director of racing, said, "In 2021 HRI extended the break for our leading jump jockeys from 12 to 24 days during June, which was very well received. The changes announced today, which were proposed by the Irish Jockeys' Association, will mean that we will...