HRI announces academy hurdles for unraced three-year-olds starting next season

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) on Friday announced a programme of academy hurdles for unraced three-year-olds beginning next season, in a move aimed at enhancing the development of young National Hunt horses in Ireland.

The races will begin in October next year and will be open to all three-year-olds who have never run under either Flat or National Hunt rules, except for the academy hurdles.

The series is viewed as the starting point for the racing careers of these young horses and, to ensure the series has as broad an appeal as possible, winners of academy hurdles will still be eligible for bumpers and maiden hurdles in Ireland, as the aim is to encourage people to put horses into training at an earlier age but not rush their education, should they win one of these races.

Launching the initiative, John Osborne, HRI's director of bloodstock, said: “In recent years the advantages of starting young thoroughbred horses at an early stage have been identified in various studies, and the data now available further supports this.

“Exposing horses to measured exercise at an early stage can have a positive impact on their performances and longevity in racing."

The focus of the series will be on jumping ability and, to further those aims, the tracks and distances chosen will be done so to maximise jumping.

To further enhance the appeal of the races, they will count towards gaining an IHRB handicap mark, while a selection of the races will also have IRE incentive-style rewards for winning and placed horses, and those who fail to win will still be eligible for a hunter certificate.

There will also be cross-border co-operation between HRI and the British Horseracing Authority, who introduced a similar Junior Hurdle programme two years ago. 

An agreement has been reached with the BHA to recognise the Academy Hurdles and HRI will reciprocate with Junior Hurdles, so winners of races in both series will be afforded the same opportunities and protections in each country. 

This means that Academy Hurdle winners will remain eligible for novice hurdles in Britain, of which approximately 360 are scheduled each season.

The Academy Hurdle series has been introduced after extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the Irish National Hunt breeding industry.

Osborne added: "There are many people in the Irish breeding world who recognised early the potential of this series and committed to working towards it, and Horse Racing Ireland will stay agile in ensuring that we do everything we can to make this a success in 2025 and beyond.” 

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