The Point-to-Point season was given the go-ahead after the Stewards of the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee (INHSC) announced the full provisional summary of races for the Autumn 2020 Season.
The season is crucial for the Irish thoroughbred industry with a series of Cheltenham Festival winners starting their careers between the flags, although it is still unclear if the public will be able to attend.
The enhanced Autumn Season contains 37 fixtures and will commence with the Ormond in Ballingarry, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary meeting on Saturday 19th September. The following day Ballymacad Foxhounds hold their meeting at Oldcastle in Co. Meath.
Fingers crossed we’ll actually be allowed go to a couple of these. 🤞🏻🤞🏻
P2P fixture list published for Autumn pic.twitter.com/7PlxvNojQL— Thom Malone (@thom_malone) August 6, 2020
One absentee from the schedule is the Dowth meeting hosted by Devenish and organised in conjunction with the Meath Hunt and Tara Harriers. The event is had grown to become Ireland’s largest Autumn Point-to-Point and country fair.
The Meath And Tara Point-to-Point will now take place at Tattersalls on October 25th, with Dowth resuming in 2021.
The Autumn season will conclude with three meetings on Sunday 13th December.
Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee (INHSC) has consulted with the Point-to-Point Handlers since the early cancellation of the Spring 2020 Season.
The majority of additional races are scheduled for horses in the four and five-year-old maiden categories. However, the Stewards of the INHSC reserve the right to amend the programme of races as the season progresses to ensure all categories of horses are adequately catered for.
Commenting on the Autumn 2020 Provisional Summary of Point to Point races, Martin O’Donnell, Senior Steward of the INHSC said: “The Stewards of the INHSC are aware that Point to Point Handlers already have a significant amount of their point to point horses in training for the forthcoming Autumn Season.
"Therefore, we considered it important to release the full programme of races at the earliest possible opportunity, so Point to Point Owners and Handlers could plan their campaign accordingly.
"The INHSC is delighted to sponsor the €5000 race for older horses at Ballymacad (F) on the final day of the Season, this race contains the largest amount of prizemoney for any race in the entire Autumn programme and we hope it will be well supported by Owners and Handlers.”
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
