National Hunt action© Photo Healy Racing
Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) today announced a number of initiatives designed to spread investment and provide further opportunities in Irish National Hunt racing.
Beginning on January 1, 2025, HRI will schedule 60 races throughout the calendar year which will be restricted to trainers who have trained less than 50 Irish National Hunt winners in either of the last two full Irish National Hunt seasons.
This effectively precludes horses trained by the big four National Hunt yards of Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Henry De Bromhead and Gavin Cromwell from running in this series of 60 races.
Races in this series will include bumpers, maiden hurdles, beginners steeplechases and handicap hurdles. It will incorporate a similar series of 17 races which currently identifies opportunities for trainers with defined levels of success over previous seasons. Eligibility for all races within the series will now be set at the criteria above.
Jonathan Mullin, HRI’s Director of Racing, commented:
“This series of 60 races has been designed by the HRI Programmes Committee to give trainers the confidence to attract new owners into their yards with the knowledge that there is a programme of races there to support them in that endeavour. There are already a small number of races in the calendar that provide this function, and this series is a step up in quantity which is intended to deliver a body of races substantial enough for trainers to encourage owners into their business and plan campaigns for those horses.”
Also commencing on January 1, 2025, HRI will alter the rating bands in National Hunt racing. Rating bands in handicaps will now be in increments of 10lb rather than the current system of 7lb, with the lowest rating band being 0-100 and random ballots applying in this category.
Handicap hurdles will also have their current minimum rating of 80 removed, with horses now running off a rating of not lower than 72. This will ensure that every handicap hurdle will utilise the full range of weights and will provide more horses with an opportunity to be competitive.
Andrew Finnegan, HRI’s Race Planning Manager, commented:
“These alterations to the National Hunt rating bands will provide more opportunities to lower-level hurdlers and provide a clearer distinction between all handicap bands. These changes are being introduced by the HRI Programmes Committee following consultation with the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association, the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners and the IHRB National Hunt handicappers.”
