Horse Racing Ireland announce dates and venues for Irish Stallion Farms EBF Academy Hurdle races

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has announced dates and venues for seven Irish Stallion Farms EBF Academy Hurdle races.

The first of these races will be at Cork racecourse on Sunday, October 12 and will run through to the end of December. Fairyhouse, Punchestown, Navan, Naas and Leopardstown are the other courses hosting races.  

The races will be open to three-year-old who have not had any previous run under either rules of racing or I.N.H.S. rules other than in Academy Hurdle races. Horses who run in any of these races can continue their careers in bumpers, maiden hurdles or point-to-points.

Jonathan Mullin, director of racing at HRI, said: “We are delighted with the venues for the first seven Irish Stallion Farms EBF Academy Hurdle races. The races will all be run over a distance in excess of two miles and it is our intention that all races will have circa ten hurdles.

"Each of the races offer a sales voucher, similar to the IRE incentive for the owners of any eligible Irish-bred horse which wins or is placed either second or third. Each winning owner will receive a €5,000 voucher while the owners of the runner-up and the third-placed horses will each receive €3,000 and €2,000 respectively.

“Additionally, the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association’s (ITBA) support of Irish Stallion Farms EBF Academy Hurdle races will now see all races benefit from being part of the Weatherbys National Hunt Fillies Bonus Scheme (in association with The Irish Field). This means that three-year-old Irish-bred fillies who win an Irish EBF Academy Hurdle in 2025 will be awarded an additional €7,500 bonus on top of the race prize-money and will still be eligible for the €5,000 scheme bonuses available if subsequently winning a bumper, a steeplechase, but not a maiden hurdle."

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