Dowth Point-to-Point cancelled

Organisers of the Point-to-Point and Country Fair at Dowth, County Meath have announced that the event will not take place this year. With restrictions on spectators at racing events still in place, the organising committee has taken the decision to postpone the event until 2021.

The point-to-point was due to take place on Sunday October 25 and was including the Autumn fixture list released by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board last Friday.

Owen Brennan, Executive Chairman of Devenish explains: “The Point-to-Point and County Fair at Dowth is a community event and the current requirement to running behind closed doors would have curtailed it to a racing only affair.

“We commend the racing authorities for their efforts in ensuring racing can return in the safest possible way, in line with Government guidance, and we fully support the ‘behind closed doors’ requirement at this time.

“However, we do not know definitively whether these restrictions on spectators will remain in place by the autumn. Accordingly, we have taken the decision not to proceed with the Point-To-Point and Country Fair at Dowth this year. This was a difficult decision for us to make, but an event of this scale takes months of preparation and planning for our organising committee, sponsors, and vendors.

“The Dowth Point-To-Point and Country Fair has been going from strength to strength since the inaugural event five years ago and whilst it is unfortunate that we have had to take this decision, racegoers can rest assured we plan to be back in 2021, bigger and better than ever.”

The inclusion of the Dowth fixture in the Autumn calendar is believed to have been the result of an administration error and all other Hunt Committees have indicated that their point-to-points are set to take place.

On the release of the Autumn fixtures Dr. Jennifer Pugh, IHRB Senior Medical Officer, commented:

“While there remains a degree of uncertainty surrounding the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic worldwide, I am confident that we will be able to hold Point to Point fixtures as scheduled under our Government’s guidelines. Our sport lends itself to the principles of social distancing, being a non-contact sport, staged outdoors and on large sites. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the IHRB on various protocols to assist Hunt Committees in ensuring the safe return of our sport.”