The 2023 fixture list, featuring the same number of fixtures as 2022 with 390, was revealed by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) on Tuesday. Three of those fixtures will be floating fixtures, to be assigned as needed.
Next year, Navan racecourse (Nov. 18, 19) and Punchestown (Nov. 25, 26) will host high-class weekends of NH racing ahead of the traditional Winter Festival at Fairyhouse (Dec. 2, 3). A new two-day fixture will be introduced at Naas on the weekend of Oct. 14 and 15 and a two-day all-Flat fixture at Leopardstown on the following weekend. The season will end at the Curragh on Sunday, Nov. 5, while the Flat Turf season also begins at the Curragh, on Saturday, Mar. 25. The number of blank Sundays will be retained at six, on Mar. 19, Apr. 23, June 25, July 16, July 30 and Oct. 8. The number of Saturdays with clashing afternoon Irish race meetings has been reduced to nine in 2023, from 15 in 2022.
Jason Morris, HRI's Director of Racing and Strategic Projects, said, “The 2023 fixture list sees a significant development of the National Hunt schedule in November with a series of two-day feature meetings now being created for both race programming and promotional benefits. The very popular Down Royal NH Festival at the start of the month will be followed by two-day meetings at Navan (featuring the Fortria and Troytown), Punchestown (featuring the Morgiana and the re-located John Durkan Memorial Chase from early December), leading into the hugely successful Fairyhouse Winter Festival in early December.”
For the full 2023 fixture list, please click here.
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