Racing to resume at Naas on Monday 8th June

The Board of Horse Racing Ireland met yesterday andagreed a number of fixture and prize money recommendations. It sees Irish racing return behind closed doors at Naas on June 8,with National Hunt racing resuming at Limerick on June22.The 2000 and 1000 Guineas will take place at theCurragh in the first week of action, with the 2000 Guineas onFriday June 12 and the 1000 Guineas on Saturday June 13. The IrishDerby retains its traditional date on Saturday, June 27, as doesthe Irish Oaks on Saturday, July 18. Irish Champions Weekend willtake place on September 12 and 13. For the first three weeks, racing will be restricted to nineracecourses which are more centrally located to minimise traveldistances and which also have higher stable capacities given therequirement for one stable per horse under the new protocols.Wherever possible 8 race cards will be staged to maximiseopportunities for the horse population. Safety limits will bedecided on a racecourse by racecourse basis to accommodate eachtrack’s social distancing requirements, with a generalmaximum limit of 18 initially. It has been agreed that Corkracecourse will not be among those used in June when it willcontinue to serve an important role as an HSE Test Centre forCovid-19. A full programme of races for these fixtures in June, and the BlackType and Premier Handicap race schedule for the full year, will bepublished next week. International participation will be restrictedto Group 1 and Group 2 races only for June, all of which must be instrict compliance with Government policy on the movement of peoplein and out of the country. It is envisaged that all Black Typeraces will be open to international competition from the start ofJuly. All the fixtures will take place under the strict protocolspublished yesterday by Horse Racing Ireland. One of those protocolsinvolves the prior health screening of all those who will be inattendance at each race meeting and, to facilitate the efficientdelivery of this, 48-hour declarations will be introduced for allraces in June. Arising from the financial situation the industry finds itself in,regrettably a number of prize money reductions will take immediateeffect for June, with the possibility that further downwardadjustments will be required through the rest of the year. Thefocus has been on maintaining prize money levels in the lower tomedium tiers as high as possible. The new proposed prize money for Group 1 races already closed, orabout to close for entry, sees the Irish Derby and the IrishChampion Stakes both cut to €750,000 (by 50% and 40% from€1.5m and €1.25m respectively) with significantreductions to all other Group 1 races throughout the year. The 1000and 2000 Guineas will both be worth €250,000. General prize money reductions, initially to the end of June, areas follows:

Base values for Group 1 Flat races cut by 30%-50%
Base values for races above €50,000 cut by at least 25%
Base values for races above €20,000 to €50,000 cut by 20%
Base values for races above €15,000 to €20,000 cut by 15%
Base values for races from €10,000 to €15,000 cut by 10%
Minimum value of €10,000 cut by 10% to €9,000
Entries fees for all races will be reduced in line with prize money reductions

]]>There will be no apprentice races or claiming racesin the opening two weeks, and 10lb claimers with less than sixrides will not be permitted to take rides in the firstfortnight. With no racecourse saunas permitted to open under the Covid-19protocols, the 2lb increase in weights introduced in March willcontinue to be applied to all races.   BrianKavanagh, Chief Executive of Horse Racing Ireland,said: “With the confirmation on Friday of the resumption of racingon June 8, we are now publishing the fixture list and theassociated details for the first three weeks of racing. “We are grateful to everybody for the patience they haveshown during this very difficult time and we will provide everyopportunity for essential personnel to fully understand andimplement the return to racing protocols. Regrettably, due to thefinancial circumstances of the industry, prize money cuts areinevitable and we have adopted a tiered approach, endeavouring toprotect the grassroots of the industry as much as possible. “We expect there to be significant demand for horses to runonce we resume, and we will aim to provide opportunities across thespectrum of age, gender and ability. We will have missed 11weeks’ racing which will take some time to catch up. Weintend to do this over the course of the rest of the year ratherthan immediately. “The resumption of racing will allow sales, trade and otherancillary services to get going again and will be widely welcomedin those areas. “Horse Racing Ireland are liaising closely with ourinternational counterparts regarding the resumption of racing inthose countries and issues such as protocols, international runnersand prize money levels.”    JUNEFIXTURES (Flat unless otherwise indicated) June 8 Naas June 9 Leopardstown June 10 Navan June 11 Gowran Park June 12 Curragh June 13 Curragh June 14 Leopardstown June 15 Fairyhouse, Roscommon June 17 Gowran Park, Limerick June 18 Fairyhouse June 19 Tipperary, Gowran Park June 20 Naas June 21 Leopardstown June 22 Roscommon, Limerick (NH) June 23 Navan June 24 Naas, Roscommon (NH) June 25 Fairyhouse June 26 Curragh, Tipperary (NH) June 27 Curragh June 28 Curragh June 29 Limerick, Kilbeggan(NH)