Racing to resume in Ireland behind closed doors next month

The decision to bring forward the reopening of horse racing comes following discussions between Horse Racing Ireland and the government

Horse racing in Ireland is set to resume next month behind closed doors, it has been confirmed.

The decision to bring forward the reopening of horse racing comes following discussions between Horse Racing Ireland and the Government.

As part of the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, horse racing was scheduled to be part of the third phase, however a decision was taken on Friday to move it to the second phase, beginning on 8 June.

Only key personnel necessary to run the fixture will be permitted to be on site where they will be subject to Covid-19 protocols.

All those in attendance will be subject to health surveying in advance and thermal temperature screening on entry.

Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, said: “We are grateful to be one of the sectors permitted to go back to work and acknowledge the responsibility on everybody in racing to ensure the events are run in a safe way.

“We know from our own experience in March when we safely ran ten meetings behind closed doors – and from what is happening in other countries like France, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and America – that racing can be staged safely within the requirements of social distancing.

“With significant input from the IHRB’s chief medical officer Dr Jennifer Pugh, we have strengthened the HRI Covid-19 protocols and so, while race fixtures will return in Ireland on June 8, they will be very different from what people will have experienced before.”