FOR the first time since the pandemic, races restricted to horses owned by syndicates and racing clubs will return in Ireland, with two flat contests scheduled for Tramore on July 11th.

The €15,000 Gain The Advantage Series Handicap, a mile-and-a-half event for three-year-olds and older, has been listed in Horse Racing Ireland’s provisional summary for July onwards, but an additional race for syndicates and racing clubs has also now been added to the schedule.

The Tote Tramore Derby Handicap, also over a mile and a half but instead for four-year-olds and up, takes place on the same fixture and has an enhanced prize fund of €15,000. Those rated between 47 and 65 can compete in the Tote-backed contest, while a horse rated 75 is designated to carry 10st 4lb in the Gain prize.

Horse Racing Ireland ownership manager Amber O’Grady said: “From an ownership perspective we are looking forward to the evening and are very grateful to Gain for including a syndicate and club race in their series and to Tramore for hosting a second syndicate and club race on the card, backed by the Tote.

Grassroots opportunity

“You can see from the recently-published Deloitte report that multiple ownership is certainly a growth area in ownership - with syndicates up 24% since 2019 and clubs up 6% - giving racing fans an affordable way to enjoy the thrill of racehorse ownership with like-minded people.

“To have races dedicated to this group of owner gives us an opportunity to highlight multiple ownership to potential new owners. It also supports the grassroots of racing, giving lower-graded horses an opportunity to race for a significant pot over the summer.”

A trio of races for horses who are the sole property of a syndicate or a racing club - and have run for the same ownership on their previous run - previously took place in Ireland back in 2019.