FOR the first time in Ireland, a Good Friday meeting will take place at the Curragh on April 3rd next year.

The fixture was awarded on a two-year trial basis and effectively replaces the Curragh’s Friday meeting on Irish Guineas weekend.

Curragh Racecourse CEO Brian Kavanagh said: “It’s an opportunity for racing and for ourselves. It’s a blank day in the calendar, a holiday when people are looking for stuff to do. So there’s potentially a new audience. Racing on Good Friday has proved a success in the UK, and plenty of Irish horses have gone over to race in Britain on that day, so we are an anomaly not having racing here.

“We applied to Horse Racing Ireland to race on Good Friday instead of the Friday on Irish Guineas weekend, which was not working for us. Good Friday has potential so we were delighted to be awarded the date.”

“It’s probably too early to get into specifics of the race programme but I think we will be trying to elevate the prize money on the day. We race the previous Saturday and a fortnight earlier. Easter is a floating date but I’d imagine a card of maidens and handicaps would always work, along with a feature race.”

The news will not be popular with all stable staff, as Easter weekend is already a very busy time for racing.

Bernard Caldwell, chief executive of the Irish Stablestaff Association, said: “Stable staff are not entirely happy with racing on Good Friday. We said ‘no’ to it but everyone else in the industry wanted it so it’s going to happen. I think it’s a pity, because a lot of staff are burnt out. At least we got another free Sunday in early March.”

Kavanagh commented: “Any change like this one is bound to meet some resistance but we feel it is worth trying. We will do our part to provide a good working environment.”

Sunday switches

In another calendar change, the Curragh will see two of its four August dates switch from Saturdays to Sundays. Kavanagh explained: “This year we raced on four consecutive Saturdays in August. HRI wanted to improve the Sunday offering for flat racing in mid-summer and we were happy to move two of our Saturdays in August to Sundays, which are less congested.”

The total number of fixtures scheduled for 2026 is 391, plus four ‘floating’ fixtures still to be allocated, which matches the 2025 and 2024 fixture list. There are seven blank Sundays, one more than in 2025.

According to HRI, the flat season will see an enhanced programme of Sunday fixtures, starting on May 3rd.

The 2026 fixture list includes a condensed National Hunt season at Thurles racecourse to allow for more prudent ground preparation – moving one fixture from mid-March into late January, and two fixtures in October to November and December. Fixtures at the racecourse post March 2026 have been labelled ‘TBC’ (To Be Confirmed) until the future of Thurles is resolved.

Eleven fixtures are set for Tipperary from April to October. However, once the all-weather project at the venue proceeds, some or all of the track’s fixtures will need to be reallocated.

Tipperary’s 2026 fixtures remain subject to change (‘STC’ on fixture list) and, as per last year’s approval, there is one Tipperary fixture that will not be replaced (October 4th) with alternative venues identified for the Pattern races.

Better quality needed

Jonathan Mullin, HRI’s Director of Racing, said: “Throughout the fixture process we were conscious that a number of summer weekends, and in particular Sundays, needed a better-quality flat offering and the list for 2026 features a number of changes to reflect that aim.

“It can be seen from tweaks made to the winter National Hunt programme over the past couple of years, that consecutive Sundays of quality racing works well in terms of promotion and awareness, and returning some flat fixtures of high quality to the Sunday roster has been brought about for 2026.

“The Good Friday fixture is a change of policy for Horse Racing Ireland and once the HRI Fixtures Committee reaffirmed their view at the outset of the process that this was a priority for 2026, we sought applications from racecourses and several expressed an interest.

“Ultimately the successful application came from the Curragh, which will include a number of community and industry initiatives as well as a considerable investment in prize money.

“With no increase in fixtures in 2026, this meeting had to come from an applicant track’s current allocation, and so this will effectively mean the Curragh’s Guineas weekend in May will revert to a two-day meeting.

“The fixture list for 2026 also sees some movement in fixtures at Thurles to assist with ground management there, as well as concentrating those fixtures in a time of the year when Thurles is seen to its best. This was an option we had raised with Thurles in early summer before their announcement to step away from the business and continued to make sense after the discussions had taken place between the Molony Family, HRI and AIR to keep Thurles operational right through this season to March 2026.

“Concentrating Thurles fixtures in the period of the calendar when Thurles has excelled as a racetrack, and when National Hunt horses of all levels seek the opportunity to run, seemed a prudent move in the circumstances and we are grateful to the Molony family and Thurles’ new clerk of the course Paul Moloney for their flexibility.”

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