Update on Guests at Racemeetings

The Irish Government announced yesterday that from 6th September increased numbers of guests can be admitted to Irish Race meetings. This is not an end to restrictions and there are still restrictions on capacity and facilities in place under this latest legislation until 22nd October 2021.

Following the Irish Government's announcement at 6pm last night Horse Racing Ireland are meeting today (Wednesday) to decide on what the restrictions that will still be in force will mean to race meetings and what services including indoor dining, hospitality, facilities and bar service will be available to guests of Longines Irish Champions Weekend, The Listowel Festival and race meetings from now until restrictions ease further. Following this meeting they will confirm, hopefully later this afternoon, the numbers of guests that will be admitted to Leopardstown and The Curragh and Listowel, ticket sale and conditions of entry, dining and other protocols that will be in place for guests wishing to attend. As of now we are awaiting that decision. Lets hope significant numbers with no "silly rules" will be admitted and can enjoy racing once more.

Why Can't Spectators Return?

The shambolic way in which the Irish Government makes up rules and regualtions to "live with" the current Covid-19 pandemic continues with no definate date for the resumption of spectators to racecourses. The current position is that 500 guests can go racing as well as owners trainers and support staff. No Indoor dining at racecourses, which seems odd because indoor dining for vaccinated guests has already been "allowed" and cut back facilities with archaric rules for those attending. This is such a marked difference to the UK where all restrictions have now been lifted and large crowds have returned to UK racecourses. Racing and Racecourses cannot survive wihout guests, the sport ceases to become a sport without spectators being involved and given the fact that racecourses are generally wide open spaces surely more could and should be done to get people back to the tracks. It's a disgrace and if schools were handled in the same way as our entertainment there would be a revolution in Ireland. Irish Government get your act together and make "reasonable judgements" instead of silly inconsistent rules. Shame on all you politicians.

The Return of Spectators

Reported Today in the Racing post an article suggesting that spectators may be able to return to Irish Racecourses in numbers in September this year. This is plainly not good enough and more should be done by HRI and the Irsih Government to ensure that we get guests back racing in Ireland as soon as possible. Even in smaller numbers first leading up to full capacity crowds we should be looking at spectators returning now and not for what will be the end of the 2021 flat race season. I am both surprised and very disappointed that we still have no definate roadmap for the opening up of Irish Racing yet, or indeed any light at the end of the long tunnel for the thousands of racing industry, hospitality and racecourse staff, many of whom have already lost their jobs, to plan for their future. This is patently not good enough and the weak Irish Government must take the blame for the shambles they are making of Ireland's entertainment and tourism industries which are on their knees right now.

A New Living Legend

I would guess that The Irish National Stud are delighted to be welcoming the 11 time grade 1 winner and peoples favourite Faugheen the machine to join their Living Legends for a well earned retirement

He will feel quite at home there where he will join old stablemate and fellow Champion hurdle winner Hurricane Fly as well as Hardy Eustace, Beef Or Salmon, Kicking King & Rite Of Passage. A great crop of equine superstars that you can visit up close and personal to on your Irish National Stud visit.

Book NOW and SAVE € €

The Thursday before Punchestown Festival week, a time when we at Race and Stay are usually finalising year long preparations to welcome over 1000 guests from all over the world to what is Ireland's best racing week.

2021. This will be a Punchestown Festival like no other. The racing will still be fabulous with 12 grade 1's and 40 races to enjoy from next Tuesday. Willie Mullins will be crowned Champion Trainer, Paul Townend will be crowned Champion Jockey despite the fabulous Rachael Blackmoore's best efforts, and Simon Torrens will be crowned Champion Conditional. A week where we traditionally celebrate everything National Hunt here in Ireland, where we enjoy the company of friends old and new, witness equine stars strutting their stuff and add a massively valuable boost to our local economy and hospitality business. Sadly though, not this year.

Fast forward 12 months and with everything being equal Punchestown will once again be able to welcome us and our many hundreds of guests to what we think will be the best ever Festival. For UK guests NOW is the time to book for 2022, the Euro / Sterling exchange rate is favourable and you get the best value for money. We will be ready, We will be there, We cant wait ...

Golf and Racing Whats not to Love?

Join us in 2022 for the Ultimate Golf and Racing Experience in Ireland. Our exclusive PUNCHESTOWN GOLF WEEK packages are totally flexible to suit you, your group size and your budget. You can choose to just Play Golf on one or more days or why not ADD the golf to your New or Existing Race & Stay Package.

Our five selected golf courses are some of the best you'll play in Ireland. All are within just a few miles of Punchestown Racecourse and our exclusive packages include: Green Fees with Reserved Tee Times, Prizes, Golfers Goodie Bag and Coffee & Scone.

Please do join us on Monday 25th April for The Punchestown Masters when we play the fabulous Palmer North Course at The K Club, the venue for the 2006 Ryder Cup in the company of some of Irelands Racing Celebrities. The Punchestown Golf Week continues when we play the challenging Rathsallagh Golf and Country Club on Tuesday. The venue for past European Open's the links style Palmer South Course at The K Club on Wednesday. Thursday we will play the excellent PGA course at Palmerstown and to complete the week on Friday we will play the Seve Ballesteros Course at The Heritage..

Book Early for Dublin Racing Festival

The dates have been officially confirmed as Saturday February 5th & Sunday 6th February for the Dublin Racing Festival in 2022 and we are so looking forward to welcoming guests back to this fabulous weekend at Leopardstown. The racing is excellent with 8 grade 1 contests to enjoy as well as some fabulous supporting races. The atmosphere is unreal with lots of favourite horses turning up to compete, no-one who was there in 2020 to watch Faugheen win will forget the reception in the winners enclosure, and with supporting Fashion, Gourmet Food and even the Six Nations Rugby on screen the atmosphere is electric. Our Race and stay packages start from only €99 per guest for a limited time and we have packages to suit all group sizes and budgets. Do not Miss It .

Slow Vaccine Roll Out to Blame

We are trying our best, the public in Ireland are trying their best and yet still the Irish Government seems intent on trying to "legislate" Covid-19 out of the country with no real roadmap for moving forward. Whilst this pandemic is an unprecidented event other countries seem to be moving forward at a much greater rate and most have clear plans to return some form of normality to society by the early Summer. From what we have read, listened to and learned it looks increasingly unlikely that anyone will be admitted to race meetings in Ireland until at least August, and only then in very limited numbers. Again we have had to refund or re-book all of our May and June guests in advance of any official announcement. Yet again, more bad news for the racecourses, racecourse staff, owners, trainers and all who work in the hospitality, racing and tourism business.

No Spectators until at Least the Summer

It looks increasingly unlikely that anyone will be admitted to race meetings in Ireland until at least late May - Early June, and only then in very limited numbers. We have taken the sad step of refunding or re-booking all of our early season guests for Dublin Racing festival, Irish Grand National Festival and also the huge Punchestown Festival in advance of the official announcement. More bad news for the many racecourses, racecourse staff, owners, trainers and all who work in the hospitality, racing and tourism business as Covid-19 shows its teeth. More soulless racing behind closed doors, more unemployment, more stress and strain on everybody. Please god let this be over soon.

What's The Current Position

Our last news post before the Christmas break, so Happy Christmas to you all. Sad to say that the current Covid-19 position seems to be getting worse not better and with the delay and slow rate of vaccinations here in Ireland it seems more likely as the days and weeks progress that we will not see the significant return of spectators to Irish tracks until much later this season. Hopefully The Irish Grand National on 3-5th April and Punchestown Festival 27th April - 1st May will go ahead as planned but that we cannot say for certain. Our best advice right now is to wait and see what the position and travel advice is nearer the race dates before making any travel plans that you cannot reverse. We will, of course, keep customers as informed as we can in the meantime.

Race Fixtures in Ireland 2021

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) today published the fixture list for 2021, which will see the overall number of fixtures increasing from the original 2020 figure of 370 to 380 next year. The list contains 379 meetings at this stage, as one ‘floating fixture’ will be kept in reserve, to be programmed at short notice by the HRI Fixtures Committee at a time when demand for opportunities to run is very high. .

Owners Can Return

In line with the Government’s medium-term plan for Living with Covid-19, published earlier this week, Horse Racing Ireland today announced that from Monday next (September 21) owners will be welcomed back to Irish racecourses.
Government guidelines now permit racing and other outdoor events to have a limited number of spectators on the racecourse in addition to those necessary to stage the event. With owners a stated priority for HRI, the decision has been taken to allow two people per owner to attend from next week. Pre-meeting health screening and temperature checking will be required..

Pat Smullen

Sadly Pat Smullen, one of Ireland's best jockeys and ambassadors, has lost his fight and sucummed to the terrible Pancreatic Cancer that enforced his retirement over 2 years ago. All our thoughts at this time are with Frances and his three children, Hannah, Paddy and Sarah, as well as all his friends and colleagues and the many people who's lives he enriched on the way including ours at Race & Stay. RIP Pat, we will miss you terribly.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam .

Irish Champions Weekend

The Longines Irish Champions Weekend Committee has today confirmed that September’s Longines Irish Champions Weekend will now take place behind closed doors. The Committee’s recommendation, made in light of the current uncertainty around Covid-19, was approved by the Board of Horse Racing Ireland at their July meeting on Monday.

Crowds to Be Admitted Soon

The French government has announced that all sports stadia, including racecourses, will be reopened to the paying public from July 11, with a limit of 5,000 people in the initial stages.
The news came as part of a raft of announcements surrounding the easing of lockdown restrictions, following a late-night session of the Defence and National Security Council (CSDN), France's equivalent of the COBRA committee.
In a separate development, France Galop confirmed meetings scheduled for Auteuil, Longchamp and Saint-Cloud next week will take place at their intended venues, meaning racing will return to the capital for the first time since May 19.
Hers's hoping that the UK and Ireland will follow as soon as possible after then.

Make Racing Bigger and Better

Thank you to the Racing Post for publishing my open letter regarding the post Covid-19 landscape. "Racing’s festivals are the lifeblood of the industry, not ordinary racedays. They generate the most media and public interest, attendances and income for all. More should be done to ensure that a race programme should be formulated to maximise the benefits of festivals, and yes, to the detriment of smaller meetings."

2020 Race Fixtures

HRI (Horse Racing Ireland) have today released a revised fixture list for all remaining race days in 2020. Racing will resume from Monday 8th June behind closed doors, with Naas being the first fixture with strict Covid-19 protocols in place. Although spectators are not allowed at present this situation is fluid and may change in line with government and health authority advice going forward and our best guess (it is only our opinion) is that racing will be held with spectators from September onwards. . From us all at Race & Stay we wish all of the Owners, Trainers, Jockeys, Stable staff, Racecourses and Racecourse staff well. Stay safe and well everyone.

Racing in July

Following an annoucement by HRI today racing fixtures for July 2020 have been confirmed and currently are set to be run behind closed doors and with strict Covid-19 protocols in place. At least we are back racing which is a great relief to all in the industry, and although spectators are not allowed at present this situation is fluid and may change in line with government and health authority advice going forward. From us all at Race & Stay we wish all of the Owners, Trainers, Jockeys, Stable staff, Racecourses and Racecourse staff well. Stay safe and well everyone.

Racing Gets Back on Track

Following an annoucement by HRI and on advice from the Irish Government Horse Racing in Ireland is set to return behind closed doors and with strict Covid-19 protocols in place from Monday June 8th with the opening meeting at Naas. Horse Racing Ireland have released a new fixture list for June 2020 showing that the Classic 1000, and 2000 Guineas meeting will be held as usual at the Curragh, but later than its traditional end of May weekend this year on Friday 12th June (2000 Guineas) and Saturday 13th June (1000 Guineas and Tattersalls Gold Cup). The Irish Derby remains unchanged from its original date of Saturday 27th June. From us all at Race & Stay we wish all of the Owners, Trainers, Jockeys, Stable staff, Racecourses and Racecourse staff well. Stay safe and well everyone.

Lets Improve Irish Racing

When racing returns, and hopefully it will soon, who knows how well perceived it will be. It may be difficult to even retain even the pre-coronavirus level of public interest let alone emerge as a viable business. We are an entertainment industry as well as a sport and business and we now have a golden opportunity to radically improve what we offer. Each year HRI releases a fixture list full of race meetings that are poorly attended with generally low prize money, why? Well, there are, of course, many “industry professionals” that argue this racing is essential for the smaller trainer, for racecourses to generate income from media rights etc, etc, but the reality is they are of detrimental value.....

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Information for Guests

The spread and containment of Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a concern for travellers in general and of course our valued guests. Whilst you appreciate that individual Governments, not us, determine travel advice, and circumstances can change very quickly, we strongly advise that you keep up to date with any travel and health advice issued by your own government. As a result of the current uncertainty we have (today) updated our booking terms to assist with travel planning.