Full complement of Group races scheduled in new programme

MINIMAL changes have been made to the revised Irish Flat racing programme with a full complement of Group races and the majority of Group One contests retaining their original dates.

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) chief executive Brian Kavanagh acknowledged that 2020 is “anything other than a normal year” but that the Flat programme would remain largely the same as racing is set to resume behind closed doors at Naas on June 8 having missed 87 fixtures since March 24.

One of the alterations sees the Group One Tattersalls Gold Cup move to July and it will now be open to three-year-olds.

Kavanagh said: “The revised list of Pattern races will see the many of them run on their original dates and under their typical conditions, though inevitably some have had date, race conditions and even venue changes to allow them fit into the new schedule.

“Apart from the three Group One races normally run on Guineas weekend, all other Group One races in Ireland will be run on their originally scheduled dates and venues. The two-year-old Group race programme starts six weeks later than normal, in early July.

Normal

“But again the full complement of opportunities will be run between then and season end. 2020 will be anything but a normal year, but in the circumstances, we have tried to preserve the opportunities which the Irish race programme offers to the better horse.”

Meanwhile, the Belmont Stakes will be contested on June 20, making it the opening leg of the American Triple Crown for the first time.

The Grade One event is usually the last of the American Classics and is contested over a mile and a half, with the 2020 running initially scheduled for June 6.

However, the New York Racing Association has announced this year’s race will be run over nine furlongs, with a revised date of June 20, following the suspension of racing since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.