- Galway Festival to run on original dates
- Racing to return from June 8 at Naas
- Revised Flat program includes 47 feature meetings
- 22 National Hunt fixtures
- Gold Cup shifted to July
Horse Racing Ireland has today announced the Galway Festival will remain a seven-day meeting on its original dates in 2020.
However there will be significant changes to the Galway festival which will include flat racing on the opening two days.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will showcase National Hunt races.
In a statement today, HRI’s director Jason Morris said there will be a “large demand for opportunities,” with 53 Flat meetings up to the end of July.
“Our aim is to provide all Flat horses with their first run as quickly as possible following the resumption of racing by offering a balanced program across all age groups, distances and categories.”
Ireland’s jumps horse population has also been catered to with five extra meetings.
“There will also be 22 National Hunt fixtures programmed between June 22 and the end of July, compared to the equivalent of 17 meetings in the same period last year,” he said.
“Eight-race cards will run at every opportunity where stable capacity allows, with the protocols requiring one stable per horse for hygiene reasons.”
The iconic Galway Festival has retained its seven-day fixture and will occur on its original dates in 2020.
The famous Galway Plate and the historical Galway Hurdle will be run on Wednesday and Thursday.
It will however be staged behind closed doors as per initial reports.
Killarney racing has been reduced from five to three meetings which will now be standalone fixtures from July 8, July 13, and July 15.
Cork Racecourse will also resume racing on July 5.
Bellewstown will host three race dates in July and have been granted two extra meetings to be staged at Curragh on July 10 and July 26, headlined by the Gold Cup which has since been shifted to July.
