Horse Racing Ireland has announced it will expand the academy hurdle series this season.

The series of academy hurdles introduced between October and December 2025 will resume in October 2026 with more opportunities for horses in this category.

Horse Racing Ireland has already announced that these races will take place in the Spring of 2027. This fits neatly with the forthcoming National Hunt store sales.

Last year HRI added seven academy hurdles to its race programming for the first time. These were restricted to three-year-olds to encourage an earlier start to hurdling in Ireland.

Some 40% of the runners in last year’s races were fillies. An ITBA Mares Bonus of €5,000 goes to any filly winning an academy hurdle that is registered for that scheme. Sales vouchers are also available for horses finishing the in first three.

The programme of races for the latter part of this year will be released in the middle of July as part of the Provisional Summary for September to December 2026.

The programme of academy hurdles in the Spring of 2027 will be published in November as part of the January to May NH Provisional Summary.

Among the best performers from the initial academy hurdles were Quinta Do Lago who ran well at the Cheltenham Festival and won at the Punchestown Festival for trainer Jessica Harrington. Highland Crystal, trained by Gordon Elliott, won a listed race in Britain and ran with credit in the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Last October HRI announced revised conditions that will broaden the reach of the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Auction & Median Maiden/Novice Hurdles over the jumps season ahead.

These will begin in September and, having previously been targeted towards store horses, they will include foals and yearlings that sold for €15,000 or less.

They also include a median auction element which should assist owner-breeders who have a horse with a sire where the median auction value is below €15,000 that did not go through a sale.

Raise You Up, trained by Ross O’Sullivan, won the €75,000 Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Series Hurdle Final at the Punchestown Festival last month.