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Welcome aid for Irish on-course bookmakers as HRI temporarily returns pitch fees
On-course bookmakers in Ireland received some welcome relief after Horse Racing Ireland refunded layers' pitch fees for February and decided against collecting charges for March, with the payments instead set to be collected within three months of racing's resumption.
Bookmakers were not able to attend the nine meetings held behind closed doors between March 13 to March 24 under HRI's coronavirus regulations and are now missing out on some of the season's most lucrative festivals at Punchestown and Fairyhouse.
Bookmaker turnover amounted to €5.2 million at last year's Punchestown festival, while Fairyhouse's Easter meeting saw €1.4m traded across the first two days of the three-day festival last year.
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Published on inCoronavirus
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