28 farms across Ireland opened their doors to breeders, racing professionals, and racing fans during the Trail, providing a showcase for the Irish thoroughbred breeding industry.

This was the fifth edition of the ITM Irish Stallion Trail and farms reported it to be the most successful yet, with a notable rise in attendance and extensive media coverage demonstrating the huge importance of horse racing and breeding in Ireland.

Public appetite for the Trail only seems to be increasing and there were over 2,500 individual registrations recorded via the ITM website for the various farms, which cover the length of Ireland, from County Down to County Cork.

Maurice Burns of Rathasker Stud summed up the positive feeling when saying: "We had a constant flow of visitors, including old customers, new customers, and racing fans.

We also had numerous members of the media, who provided excellent coverage and helped increase the farm’s exposure. So the Trail is a great way for us to promote the stud and we also sold nominations to our stallions, which really makes it all worthwhile."

Alex Cairns, Marketing Executive at ITM, said: ‘The ITM Irish Stallion Trail has become an annual pilgrimage for breeders and racing fans. There was great momentum behind the event in 2019 and the positive feedback we have received has been a huge source of satisfaction. ITM would like to thank all breeders, racing professionals, media, and fans who joined the ITM Irish Stallion Trail in 2019. We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to the 28 farms that so generously opened their doors to showcase Irish thoroughbred breeding. Plans for 2020 are already underway!"