JESSICA Cahalan is the ‘front of house’ first point of contact for the racing industry when Thurles kicks off its new season of racing on Thursday, October 9th.

From Ballingarry near Roscrea, Cahalan is currently manager of Laytown Races and has previously held administrative roles with trainers David Wachman, Tom Hogan and Denis Hogan.

She has been contracted by the Molony family, owners of Thurles Racecourse, to “handle operations” this season, following the family’s decision to retire from managing the facility. Last month Horse Racing Ireland [HRI] reached an agreement with the Molony family which will see Thurles remain open until next March. Peter Roe, Head of Racing at HRI Racecourses, will oversee the management of the facility until the end of this season.

It is thought that all parties will need to agree to a longer-term decision by next summer if the track is to remain open, as it is generally acknowledged that the track and facilities are in need of significant investment.

Riona Molony commented: “We are delighted to fund and support this short-term solution which allows us to step back from the management of the racecourse while assigned fixtures can be fulfilled and racing can continue at our track.

“We are grateful to all parties involved, particularly Suzanne Eade and her team at Horse Racing Ireland for supporting us to ensure the right people are in place to make it possible. This is a great result for Irish racing and I’m delighted to hand over to Peter and Jessica to take things from here.”

Suzanne Eade, CEO of HRI, added: “We would like to acknowledge the support of the Molony family in facilitating the continuation of racing at Thurles until they have determined their longer-term plans for the racecourse. Thurles has long been fundamental to the winter racing schedule and with the support of the wider industry, we hope that this can continue into the future. I would also like to thank the management and staff of HRI Racecourses for their support in enabling the operations of Thurles Racecourse to continue in the short term.”

The opening meeting of the Thurles season is an all-flat card. The first of the National Hunt fixtures will take place on Thursday, October 16th.

Last season Thurles had to cancel its first three meetings of the season due to lack of rain, so the recent wet spell will have been welcomed.

The 2026 fixture list again has six Thurles meetings pencilled in for the final three months of the year but all are described as “to be confirmed”. The two National Hunt cards in October have been pushed back to November and December “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.”