Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Strategic Priorities for Horse Racing Ireland: Discussion
Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I have two more points on the race fixtures or race programme. HRI had to run an extra meeting recently in Punchestown to facilitate low-handicapped and low-quality horses that were getting balloted out. Will HRI be adjusting its fixture list to allow for that going forward or is it just a spike in numbers at the minute? I am involved in a syndicate and we were balloted out four times. It was frustrating for some of the lads who might not understand the whole system as well as I do.
In fairness, HRI ran that card in Punchestown. Even having to run it is an admission that the programme does not sufficiently facilitate every type of horse. Will that be examined? Will it be changing? How can that problem within the calendar be overcome?