Quick Checks Planned to Move Irish Racing to Resumption

Preparations are quickening for a resumption of Irish racing as soon as the green light from government is given, with the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board moving to streamline the process of passport inspections on race days.

According to an email sent to trainers by IHRB chief veterinary officer Lynn Hillyer, the pre-clearing of equine flu vaccinations electronically will be proceeding with immediate effect, using a new dedicated section of the IHRB website and a new app supported by Weatherbys and Horse Racing Ireland.

Scanned copies of the relevant pages of a horse's passport will be uploaded and stored digitally, therefore eliminating the need for a horse's passport to be inspected on the day and reducing interactions between officials and stable staff.

It is expected the measure will also have the benefit of preventing vaccination error issues on a race day. As high demand is expected, the intention is to prioritize horses likely to be entered on the flat in the first two months of resumption.

The last meeting in Ireland took place behind closed doors March 24, with government lockdown in force until May 4, after which it is expected that some of the current restrictions on society and economic activity will be gradually eased.

IHRB communications director Niall Cronin commented on other preparatory measures being undertaken, saying: "We are looking at each racecourse on an individual basis in conjunction with Horse Racing Ireland and seeing what needs to be done to help us adhere to social distancing when we get back.

"We don't know when that's going to be, but the layout of each track is not going to change, so while we have no racing, we can be working on what we learned from the 10 meetings we did have behind closed doors. We couldn't really fault what was done at those meetings in terms of social distancing, but there are always things that you can do to make things easier in that regard."

Cronin added: "I don't think there will be any tracks that will cause a problem, given a bit of imagination and, of course, given that bit more time to prepare.

"It might have been harder going into some tracks when we were doing it day by day last month and when it was just landed upon us, but now that we have had time, we can ensure that various aspects will work, such as one-way systems in weighing rooms and appropriate stewards' rooms. All of this is being done to make sure we are ready to race when we get the green light, whenever that is."