Dundalk to trial 48-hour declarations

Horse Racing Ireland has announced a one-off trial of 48-hour declarations for Dundalk's fixture on Wednesday.

This trial, as a result of approaches from At The Races and France Galop, will allow HRI to evaluate the impact on international betting turnover of 48-hour declarations as compared to the current 24-hour declarations.

Declarations for the meeting will therefore now close on Monday at 10am.

It will provide a direct comparison with the previous Wednesday evening meeting at Dundalk on April 4.

Jason Morris, HRI Director of Racing, said: "I would stress that this is a one-off trial at Dundalk next Wednesday to allow us to evaluate the impact on international betting turnover, particularly from France, of 48-hour declarations as compared to 24-hour declarations.

"It is possible that more Dundalk evening fixtures during the winter period may be covered by France in the future, but a major stumbling block would be the lack of 48-hour declarations, as this means that the races do not get the same level of coverage in the French racing journals.

"The trial next Wednesday will allow all parties to evaluate the effect that this has on turnover."