THERE are just 166 members of the Irish racing community heading to Cheltenham next week.

All of them will undergo a Covid-19 test 72 hours prior to departure and they will be tested again before they return.

Dr Jennifer Pugh, senior medical officer with the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, said: “We tested 100 racing personnel over the last two Saturdays and only one tested positive. That was a jockey and fortunately he can complete 10 days in isolation before going to Cheltenham.

“By Tuesday we will have tested all 166 people heading to Cheltenham from Ireland – the bulk of those were done on Thursday and Friday.”

The vast majority of the Irish contingent will be housed in a specially built Irish zone in Cheltenham Racecourse. There are strict rules in place for those staying in the temporary accommodation on-site, including a ban on alcohol, and there will be three compliance officers among them, also acting as contact points for those who need information.

A limited number of Irish will stay in the Ellenborough Hotel adjacent to the track.

The Irish jockeys will be based in the weighroom while the home team of riders use temporary facilities. In the event of a stewards’ enquiry, the Irish jockeys will give their evidence by video link.

The British Horseracing Authority will ‘rapid-test’ everyone entering the racecourse each day as part of a pilot scheme which is being trialled across a number of sports in Britain. These ‘lateral flow’ tests are not as accurate as the ‘swab’ tests, and can give false positives, but Dr Pugh understands that the Irish at Cheltenham will not be asked to take these tests as they have already entered the site with a negative test result.

Once home from Cheltenham, the Irish travellers must restrict their movements for 10 days unless they return another negative Covid-19 test on day five. Under the elite sportsperson rules, jockeys can compete at Irish meetings during their isolation period but cannot mix at other times.