No plans for Irish authorities to follow BHA with lateral flow tests for jockeys

There are no plans for Irish racing authorities to follow the BHA in requiring a negative lateral flow test for anyone entering the weighing room on raceday, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board has said.

In response to rising Covid-19 case numbers, the BHA announced on Thursday that from next Wednesday, January 5, all weighing-room personnel must take a test before attending the racecourse, with no lateral flow tests available on site.

Protocols surrounding jockeys' changing facilities have been in place since racing resumed in Ireland in June 2020 and were tightened in recent weeks as case numbers increased.

In light of the Omicron variant, televisions in jockey areas are no longer available and racecourse shower facilities have been closed.

When asked whether Ireland could follow Britain with testing measures, a spokesperson for the IHRB told the Racing Post: "At this stage, we're not seeing enough evidence that we need to do that.

"We wouldn't envisage any close contacts in the weighing room due to the set-up that's in place. Time in the weighing-room building is very much reduced and minimal."

The vast majority of Irish jockeys are understood to be vaccinatedCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

The spokesperson added: "Ever since we returned to racing in 2020 we've had strict protocols on racecourses, especially in terms of the weighing room. We have adapted those protocols where appropriate throughout the pandemic, reflecting whatever situations arose at different times.

"Our weighing rooms have never been fully operational as they were in pre-Covid times. The work that Dr Jennifer Pugh [IHRB senior medical officer] continues to put into this side of the protocols is constant, communicating with riders on a daily basis. Jockeys are arriving to the track late and going home as soon as they are finished."

Racecourses were praised by the IHRB for their cooperation in delivering Covid-compliant facilities for riders as crowds have returned to Irish tracks in recent months.

It is understood that between 95 and 97 per cent of jockeys in Ireland are vaccinated.

"We have the cooperation of the racecourses to accommodate the jockeys in different rooms and more spacious areas around the racecourse," said the IHRB spokesperson.

"At no stage during this pandemic have we felt that weighing rooms were a big risk because they haven't been operating as they were pre-Covid. Mask-wearing indoors has always remained mandatory in Ireland.

"Crowds are back and that makes it hard on racecourses to find that space, but they have all cooperated and we'll continue to work with them."

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