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Rachael Blackmore Wins 2021 Irish Racing Hero Award

Jockey Rachael Blackmore will be awarded the 2021 Irish Racing Hero Award at the annual Horse Racing Ireland Awards in December.

Blackmore became the first woman to claim the Cheltenham Festival Leading Jockey title with six winners. She found Champion Hurdle success with Honeysuckle (GB) (Sulamani {Ire}) on Tuesday, a Triumph Hurdle score with Quilixios (GB) (Maxios {GB}) on Friday and also won races in the middle of the meeting with Bob Olinger (Ire) (Sholokhov {Ire}) and Sir Gerhard (Ire) (Jeremy) on Wednesday and Allaho (Fr) (No Risk At All {Fr}) and Telmesomethinggirl (Ire) (Stowaway {GB}) on Thursday.

She became the first woman to ride the winner of the iconic G3 Grand National with her success on Minella Times (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}) described as “historic” by President Michael D Higgins, “a truly amazing achievement” by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue T.D, saying, “You are once again a history maker and have done Ireland proud.”

Suzanne Eade, interim CEO of Horse Racing Ireland, said, “Rachael's achievements on two of jump racing's biggest stages are truly historic. Not only was she the first woman to ride the winner of a championship race at Cheltenham, but Rachael also became the first woman to win the Leading Jockey Award at the festival. It is remarkable that her six winners included five at Grade 1 level.

“Her Aintree Grand National victory made headlines all over the world and that accomplishment alone will resonate with so many within the racing industry and beyond.

“Rachael has become more than a role model; she is a true icon of our wonderful sport and a most fitting winner of the 2021 Irish Racing Hero Award.”

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Claiming Process Streamlined By Horse Racing Ireland

A streamlining of the claiming process for Irish claiming races, to speed up post-race procedures, has been instituted by Horse Racing Ireland and the new regulations will go into effect on Nov. 2. Pre-authorisation on the day of the race will be required for all potential claimants. The claimant's contact details, the name of the designated trainer for the horse they wish to claim, the name of the person responsible for collecting and transporting the claimed horse and the value of the horse they wish to claim should be submitted to Horse Racing Ireland up to one hour before the scheduled race time. Pre-authorisation can be done in two ways: by completing the online pre-authorisation form or by telephoning the client accounts department of HRI. For more information on the new procedures, please visit the Horse Racing Ireland website.

Jason Morris, HRI's Director of Racing, said, “The popularity of claiming races continues to grow as a medium for purchasing horses and we have seen a huge increase in the volume of activity, with upwards of 30 claims being submitted in races on occasions. This can lead to considerable delays in the post-race processing and the announcement of the successful claims.

“The changes to the regulations announced today will streamline the process for everyone involved and will also ensure the welfare of claimed horses as they transfer between trainers. The time between the race being run and the announcement of successful claims will be reduced, removing any ambiguity of who is responsible for the welfare of the horse in the period after the race.

“It is important to note that pre-authorisation must be sought each time a person intends to make a claim and that those wishing to proceed with their claim must contact the client accounts department of HRI after the race is run. No claim will be accepted after the race without pre-authorisation.”

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Mental Health App For Jockeys Rolled Out

Irish Injured Jockeys has introduced a mental health app called Leafyard that provides tools, activities, and support to help all jockeys with any general mental health concerns. Research commissioned by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board in 2019 and 2020 found that injured jockeys were 46 times more likely to meet the criteria for depression than non-injured jockeys and reported higher levels of dissatisfaction associated with meeting the criteria for distress and generalised anxiety.

Ruby Walsh, former champion jockey and chairman of the Irish Injured Jockeys, said, “I suppose I wasn't shocked when I saw the results of the survey the Irish Horse Racing Regulatory Board commissioned. I have been around in the racing world long enough to see the highs and the lows, so whilst it didn't shock me, it did upset me.

“After consultation with Dr [Jennifer] Pugh [IHRB medical director] and [sports psychology consultant] Ciara Losty, Irish Injured Jockeys were happy to fund the Leafyard app, which I think is an innovative, action-driven, practical solution to support everyone in the weigh room.”

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Forty-Eight Hour Declarations Made Permanent In Ireland

Forty-eight hour declarations, adopted in Ireland from June 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, will become permanent after receiving the vote of approval from the board of Horse Racing Ireland.

“The HRI Board accepted that there were many positive reasons for retaining 48-hour declarations on a permanent basis,” said Jason Morris, director of racing at Horse Racing Ireland. “Significant commercial, marketing and operational benefits have been identified including the promotion of our sport by media and the betting industry.

“48-hour declarations are considered essential by our media rights partners when it comes to maximising our income streams from international markets, thereby driving revenues for racecourses as well as increasing the exposure of our horses for export purposes. Their permanent retention had support from associations representing racecourses, owners, and stable staff, all of whom identified the positive benefits of being able to plan further ahead. The Jockeys Association and IHRB Senior Medical Officer are also strongly supportive from a health and welfare perspective as it gives more notice to jockeys of their required riding weights and doubles the time available for them to manage any required weight loss.

“While there has been an anticipated increase in non-runners, the overall effect has not been significant as our reserve system allows for replacements–the net percentage of non-runners has only increased by 0.10 runners per race from 2019 to 2021 against the background of average field sizes increasing overall from 11.5 to 12.3 runners per race over this period.

“We acknowledge the concerns of the trainers and owners associations around the timetable for making entries and we will explore with the IRTA and AIRO whether beneficial changes can be made to the current entry schedule.”

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