Second all-weather track a long shot but HRI may still have got what it wanted

In March, Horse Racing Ireland revealed it was seeking expressions of interest for a second all-weather venue to be in place by 2021. At the time, the annual rumblings of discontent over the surface at Dundalk were growing louder. Many trainers were adamant that horses were returning sore and jarred up due to the lack of bounce on the 12-year-old track, and plenty of them voted with their feet, or at least their horses’ feet.

On April 24, a seven-race card at the County Louth venue attracted just 62 horses. Contrast that with the 128 who were entered for a single race there last Friday, or the 259 engaged at the five-day stage for Friday’s spread.

There is little doubt that the seasonal aspect exacerbated matters at the April fixture, as trainers are by then gravitating towards the turf programme, but there was no shortage of handlers willing to put their heads above the parapet to say that something had to be done to regenerate the surface.