Thurles racecourse saved from immediate closure with Horse Racing Ireland to take control up until March

Thurles racecourse has been spectacularly saved from closure, with its allocation of fixtures over the coming months set to go ahead under the stewardship of Horse Racing Ireland. 

Crunch talks between the Molony family and HRI were held at the Curragh on Thursday in an attempt to secure a temporary reprieve for the track, and there has been a very positive outcome from that meeting for Irish racing with news that the first fixture on October 9 will go ahead, as well as ten meetings up until next March.

A joint statement issued on behalf of Horse Racing Ireland and Thurles Race Company said: "Following a positive meeting this afternoon between Horse Racing Ireland and the Molony family, Thurles Race Company will facilitate the continuation of racing at Thurles racecourse until March 2026, with operational responsibility of the racecourse passing to Horse Racing Ireland.

"Today’s agreement, made possible in conjunction with the Association of Irish Racecourses, the IHRB, and the support of the wider industry, will see Thurles fulfil its 11 fixtures through to March 2026, resuming as scheduled on Thursday, October 9.

"Keeping Thurles operational until March of next year affords all interested parties time to consider a longer-term plan for the racecourse."

Thurles is Ireland's only privately owned racecourse and Riona Molony sent shockwaves around the racing world at the start of this month when announcing that the track was to close with immediate effect, with a challenging financial landscape and increasing industry demands given as factors behind the move. 

The track lost a number of fixtures last winter due to the dry weather, and the cost of installing an artificial irrigation system, which it has never had, was deemed prohibitive. Tragically, it was also at Thurles where Michael O'Sullivan suffered his fatal injury last February.

Since the Molonys' announcement on August 1, two meetings have been held between the Molony family and HRI, and the second of those has resulted in an agreement between the two parties about the short-term future of the venue. 

Given that HRI also owns Tipperary, the suggestion is that the staff from that track switch to Thurles to help operate the 11 fixtures between October and March. 

The final fixture of 2025 at Tipperary is on Monday, October 6, and three days later Thurles is set to stage its first fixture of the new jumps season. 

The first meeting at the Limerick Junction venue in 2026 is not until late April, more than a month after the Thurles season comes to an end. 

Speaking before the crisis talks on Thursday, record-breaking champion jumps trainer Willie Mullins said it would be a "travesty" if Thurles was lost and reported the track to be in tip-top condition after walking it last week. 

Willie Mullins had advocated for Thurles to stay openCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

He said: "I walked the track last week and it has never looked so well in its life. It walked brilliantly, too. There have been some tremendous improvements made to the ground and it looks absolutely fantastic. 

"It's not right that millions are being spent on other tracks while this is happening to Thurles. With very little investment Thurles could be a huge attribute to Irish racing and to lose a track like that would be an absolute travesty."

Mullins, as well as the rest of the racing industry, will be mightily relieved that a short-term solution has been found to allow Thurles to stage its 11 fixtures between October and March, but the track's long-term future remains uncertain.

Read more:

'It would be a travesty to lose it now' - Willie Mullins speaks ahead of crunch talks about temporary Thurles takeover 

'It's essential that every avenue is explored' - trainers' body calls on HRI to exhaust all options to save Thurles 

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