HRI: no plans to put on extra fixtures to fill void

There are no plans for extra fixtures in Ireland, despite racing in Britain being locked down until at least Wednesday.

Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, said the issue of extra funding would be a stumbling block to shoehorning cards into the schedule early next week – there is racing in Ireland on Saturday and Sunday but then a break until Wednesday – due to minimum prize-money commitments, and added that the existing schedule is adequate to meet the demands of the Irish horse population.

He conceded additional fixtures would be considered if Britain's shutdown is extended beyond Wednesday and bookmakers are in need of a racing product.

"Extra fixtures isn't something we're looking at yet," he said on Friday. "There's a funding issue, because we have prize-money criteria for fixtures, and we'd prefer to wait and see what unfolds in Britain.

"If this is going to go on, maybe it's something we'll look at towards the second half of the week, but it's not straightforward.

"There's no crying demand for additional fixtures from the horse population but, equally, if the betting industry wants some products we can look at it. The BHA expects to set out their stall on Monday and we can take stock then."

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board on Friday issued an updated directive to trainers stating that as of Monday, February 18 every runner must have received an appropriate vaccination for the Clade 1 strain of the flu virus within eight weeks of its race.

The document advises that the IHRB veterinary team will be carrying out inspections on horses arriving at racecourse stables with increased scrutiny and recommends trainers be extra vigilant in the lookout for symptoms prior to horses leaving their yard.

Following Friday's news that runners at two other fixtures this week – Newcastle on Tuesday and Wolverhampton on Wednesday, in addition to Ayr on Wednesday – could have been exposed to the virus, Madeleine Tylicki's stable has been added to the list of Irish yards potentially vulnerable.

However, Sokudo, her runner at Newcastle on Tuesday did not return to her main yard, and IHRB chief veterinary officer Dr Lynn Hillyer felt there was no reason to prevent the trainer's Pacific Fleet from running at Dundalk on Friday.

"The horse returned from Newcastle to a different premises than Madeleine's main yard," said Hillyer on Friday. "It was nothing to do with flu, it was just by chance, so her runner at Dundalk tonight isn't at risk."

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