Irish pony racing praying for progress with future hanging in the balance

The future of Ireland’s pony racing circuit still hangs in the balance as talks with its insurance company continue in an effort to secure a deal to save one of the most important grassroots sectors of Irish racing.

Having negotiated an insurance extension until June 4 to stage its opening three meetings of the year, stakeholders are now in limbo waiting for a response to determine whether the season can continue their season.

Fixtures scheduled to take place in Letterkenny and Thomastown later this year have already been cancelled, while some jockeys and trainers on the circuit are heading to Scotland for racing this weekend as no Irish fixtures can go ahead until a solution has been agreed.

Horse Racing Ireland provided the sector with a grant of €12,500 last year and has agreed to increase its contribution this time should the insurance premium be higher.

The Irish Horse and Pony Racing Association was hoping an answer would be given by the end of this week, but the bank holiday weekend delayed talks.

Antoinette Gallagher of the Midlands Pony and Racing Club says all feedback so far is positive, but nothing is guaranteed yet.

She said: "We are just praying that this is good news. We told them we’d do whatever it takes to make it work. We’re kind of stalled now. We don’t know where we’re really going until we get more positive feedback. It’s all in their hands.

"We have lost two meetings already. People needed to know in advance and as the insurance wasn’t set up we had to pull the plug on them. That’s the danger of having to wait so long is that more meetings might be pulled."

Dylan Browne McMonagle: learned his trade on the pony circuitCredit: Racing Post/Scott Burton

The next scheduled meeting is on June 19 at Castleisland, which staged its first pony racing fixture in 1859 and is one example of the proud tradition and heritage within the sport.

Gallagher is hoping the matter can be resolved promptly so that young talent is not lost to other sports.

"We have a colossal amount of young jockeys coming through and they love it," she added. "We had 40 entered in a beginners' race last month. That’s 40 jockeys who’ve never ridden before and now they’re all mad to buy ponies and get rides. They’re all gaining confidence.

"We have some amount of serious talent that’s going to be on the track in the next couple of years, so we are desperate to get it all sorted."

Read more on Irish Pony racing . . .

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