Stable staff offered chance to ride in special Punchestown event

Punchestown will stage an Up The Yard Day on Saturday, November 18 in recognition of the stable and stud staff involved in the Irish racing and bloodstock industry.

The day will feature a 1m6f race, titled the Up The Yard Challenge Race, in which 16 stable staff, aged 18 or older and who have never ridden in a race or a point-to-point, will be eligible to ride.

Yards are being asked to nominate one rider to represent their place of work and the nominated riders will undergo assessment in the Racing Academy and Centre of Education in the coming weeks.

Details of nominees – including name, age, nominating trainer and a short explanation as to why this person has been selected – must be sent by Monday, October 16 to lhughes@punchestown.com. A draw will take place during racing on Thursday, October 19 at Punchestown to decide the participants and reserves.

Realise a dream

Richie Galway, racing manager at Punchestown, said: "The whole idea behind the Up The Yard Challenge Race is to offer the opportunity for people who work in racing to realise a dream.

"Achieving the ambition of riding on the track is a tough task in such a competitive industry and we all know there are very talented horsemen and women riding out every day in yards throughout the country. This is a chance for them to show us what they can do and represent their yard and work colleagues at the same time”.

Stable and stud staff are invited to enjoy an off-duty day at the races and there will be a full programme of inter-yard games and challenges with many spot prizes and vouchers to be won.

Admission will be free for those with an active Association of Irish Racecourses card and extra complimentary staff tickets can be arranged in advance.

Read exclusive previews from 6pm daily on racingpost.com