THE board of Horse Racing Ireland on Thursday announced that horse racing will take place behind closed doors, starting with last night’s meeting at Dundalk and continuing up until March 29th.

It follows Government advice issued on Thursday morning to contain the spread of Covid-19, including an instruction to limit external gatherings to less than 500 people.

After consultation with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and with industry stakeholders, HRI has imposed a number of restrictions on race meetings between now and March 29th to ensure that less than 500 people are on site at each race meeting.

These measures will take immediate effect, with the situation being kept under review.

The restrictions are:

  • Race meetings will be closed to the public with recommended social distancing measures implemented on track.
  • Access will be restricted to essential service providers and industry participants.
  • There will be no catering services, on course bookmakers or Tote services provided.
  • One groom per runner declared will be admitted to the racecourse.
  • One owner per runner will be admitted.
  • Only trainers of horses running at the meeting will be admitted.
  • All participants will be asked to vacate the racecourse after their horses have run.
  • Racing will continue to be made available to broadcasters as at present.

    • Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, said: “It is important that horse racing acts responsibly and plays its part in the efforts to limit the spread of Covid-19. That is why we are announcing, with immediate effect, that horse racing fixtures in Ireland will continue between now and March 29th, but will be run behind closed doors with very restrictive access.

    “Race meetings will not be open to the public, in line with measures taken by other international racing jurisdictions, such as France, Hong Kong, Japan and Dubai. Public health is the number one priority and these restrictions will continue be kept under constant review as we liaise with our colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Health.

    “The restrictions will limit social interaction but will allow a vital rural industry to continue to operate, protecting livelihoods and jobs.”

    The offices of Horse Racing Ireland will remain open during this time and working from home arrangements will be facilitated wherever possible.

    These measures, while inconvenient to many and costly to some stakeholders, at least ensure that the sport continues to operate, with distribution of prize money and opportunities to provide winning opportunities being available. When the present crisis abates, and hopefully comes to a swift end, racing in Ireland will be seen to have played a responsible role in averting what is, after all, a huge human challenge.

    Meetings affected by this measure are:

    Friday, March 13th: Dundalk

    Saturday, March 14th: Navan

    Sunday, March 15th: Limerick

    Tuesday, March 17th: Down Royal, Wexford

    Friday, March 20th: Dundalk

    Saturday, March 21st: Thurles

    Sunday, March 22nd: Downpatrick

    Tuesday, March 24th: Clonmel

    Thursday, March 26th: Cork

    Friday, March 27th: Dundalk

    Saturday, March 28th: Navan

    Sunday, March 29th: Curragh