Plan to bar top trainers from selected Irish jumps races to be reviewed

An initiative to limit 60 jumps races next year to all Irish trainers bar the top four may run aground due to apparent disagreement in the industry, writes Johnny Ward.

Horse Racing Ireland had responded to the ongoing contraction of the jumps scene in July by announcing a new schedule of 60 races that will be confined to trainers who have saddled fewer than 50 winners in the code in either of the previous two seasons.

It was a move welcomed by Ryan McElligott, the then chief executive of the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association. McElligott referenced HRI industry statistics that illustrated alarming trends within the industry. 

However, McElligott's successor, Feidhlim Cunningham, has contacted trainers to tell them the new initiative would be reviewed after only four months next year. 

He wrote to IRTA members: "The HRI board met on Monday 21st of October to consider the introduction of 60 races that would exclude Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Henry De Bromhead and Gavin Cromwell from competing as announced by HRI last July. 

"There was significant opposition to the way this was being introduced from all major stakeholders. HRI received letters from AIRO (Association of Irish Racehorse Owners), ITBA (Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association), IJA (Irish Jockeys Association) and ourselves conveying our disapproval of this series in its current format.

"After meeting with HRI on the matter it is clear that the process to introduce these races was not up to standard. Furthermore what HRI are trying to achieve by introducing these races doesn't go any way towards solving the issues confronting National Hunt racing. The proposed series of races achieves nothing for trainers as a whole.

"The HRI board was presented with the letters from stakeholders and have decided that there will be 17 of these restricted races run between January 1st and May 3rd 2025 which represents the proposed allocation of 60 races in that four-month period. These races were agreed yesterday at the fixtures committee meeting and will be published shortly.

"There is not to be another restricted race run thereafter until there is a full consultation with all stakeholders about how best to move forward for the 2025/'26 season. Everything is on the table for discussion."

In the first six months of 2024, entries for Irish jumps races declined by nearly ten per cent and runners by seven per cent, with average field sizes down 5.1 per cent to 11.2.