Troubles mounting for Irish tracks as mass gatherings banned until September

Brian Kavanagh has described the ban on mass gatherings of over 5,000 people in Ireland as "really serious" after the government stepped up its measures to contain the coronavirus crisis.

Confirmation of the move, which will be in place until September 1, came on Tuesday evening following a cabinet meeting earlier in the day. The development extinguished Galway’s hopes of racing as normal when its seven-day festival begins on July 27, leaving the course with a financial hole somewhere in the region of around €3 million.

Given the potential for negative PR, it remains to be seen whether tracks will race with reduced capacity whenever racing resumes, and the vast majority of fixtures wouldn’t trouble the 5,000 figure.