Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association

Together For Racing Ireland (TfR Ireland) hosted a group of 30 fifth year LCA students and teaching staff from its three current partner schools: Curragh Post Primary, Kildare Town Community School and St. Paul's Secondary School at Goffs in Kildare on Thursday, Feb. 10. The objective of the Goffs tour was to give students an insight into the Irish bloodstock industry, its position as a world leader and its many rewarding opportunities. Goffs Bloodstock Manager Mary Kilduff led the tour, while insight was provided from the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association...

A survey, focusing on the range of challenges around health, safety and sustainability that employers and key stakeholders face in the racing industry, was launched by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI)'s health and safety division along with the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRTA) and the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (ITBA). The bespoke online survey, conducted by Red C Research & Marketing, will be anonymous and take 10 minutes to complete. A link to complete the survey will be sent to all industry employers and is also available through equuip's website and...

The 2022 Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association National Webinar Series was announced on Sunday. Beginning on Friday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., the first webinar will update viewers on the ITBA's 2021. Chairman John McEnery, Vice Chairman Cathy Grassick and CEO Shane O'Dwyer will provide an update on the organisation and also outline plans for 2022 and beyond. The second session of Friday's webinar is titled "Changing in Today's Environment" and will cover all aspects of operating in today's climate. The panel will discuss all elements around movement...

The ITBA Educational Programme 2021: Breeding Season Preparation Workshop, was announced on Tuesday. Free to attend, the workshop lasts from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 16. Topics that will be covered are: assisting mares during foaling (Patricia Markey), preparing mares for foaling and postnatal care (Andrea Ryan), the best nutritional plan for pregnant mares during and post foaling and nutritional plans for foals (Lorraine Fradl) and smart approaches to getting mares back in foal plus the importance of selecting the most suitable stallions (Micheal Orlandi). To register, please...

A new virtual workshop titled "A Smart Approach to Yearling Sales Preparation" is slated for Thursday, Aug. 5, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association announced on Friday. All aspects of a good planning programme will be covered in advance of the upcoming yearling sales season. Elements addressed during the free workshop include: farriery, nutrition, transportation and veterinary. The workshop's panelists are breeder/consignor Cathy Grassick of Newtown House Stud, veterinarian Serena Iceton of Troytown Equine Hospital, Connolly RED MILLS equine nutritionist Lorraine Fradl, Master Farrier Martin...

A free online webinar discussing climate change was hosted by the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association on June 25. Among the topics discussed were agroforestry, biodiversity, carbon calculation, grassland and pasture management, soil and mineral management, and management adaptations for climate change mitigation-i.e. alternative energy sources. The keynote speaker was Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for Department of Agriculture with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity, whose speech was pre-recorded, as she was speaking on the Climate Bill in the Seanad. Another presenter was Professor John Sweeney, former President of...

The IRE Incentive Scheme, which sets out to stimulate and fortify Irish Thoroughbred breeding, racing and sales, has been launched by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI). The scheme will award a bonus of €10,000 to any owner of Irish-bred winners of 150 selected races across the Irish Flat and National Hunt programmes which may then be redeemed at bloodstock auctions in Ireland. The first nominated race takes place Friday at Dundalk. Qualifying races will include 2-year-old fillies' maidens; 2-year-old auction maidens and median auction races; 3-year-old median auction maidens; and National...

Nominations are now open for the 2021 Irish Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards, and close at 5 p.m. local time on Monday, Apr. 19. The Irish GSSSAs are held in association with the Irish Stablestaff Association, the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, Racing Post and Horse Racing Ireland. The 10 award categories offer combined prizemoney of over €85,000. Besides prizemoney allocated for the winner, the two finalists and their employers, €100 will be set aside to the short-listed candidates in eight of the award categories. Sandra Hughes, Godolphin's Irish Stud...

The Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association honored the human and equine stars of 2020 during a virtual ceremony for its National Breeding and Racing Awards on Saturday evening. The ITBA Hall of Fame inductee for 2020 was the Irish National Stud. Ireland's Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue accepted the honor on behalf of the Irish State, while President Michael D Higgins wrote a personal message to the Irish National Stud in recognition of its national importance. The popular Wild Geese Award, honoring an Irish national who has made an impact on...

The 2020 Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association National Breeding & Racing Awards will be announced via a virtual ceremony at 7:30 p.m. local time on Jan. 30. The virtual ceremony will be released on all ITBA social media channels, as well as the ITBA website. This is the first time the ceremony will be conducted virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. ITBA chairman John McEnery said, "Despite all the many challenges facing the industry in 2020, Irish breeders and Irish bred horses continued to excel on both the national and...

The 2019 Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Northern Region Award winners have been announced. Overall there were 79 Flat winners (£1.72m) in 2019 and 88 National Hunt winners (£1.39m). The award winners are as follows: 3yo Winner: Thomas Foy, Pogo (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}) Older Horse: Colin Kennedy, Chatez (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) G1 Winner: John Yarr, A Wave Of The Sea (Ire) (Born To Sea {Ire}) Cheltenham Winner: Aaron Metcalfe, Ravenhill (Ire) (Winged Love {Ire}) G1 Winner: Aaron Metcalfe, Slate House (Ire) (Presenting {GB}) 2yo: Max Ervine, Wichita (Ire) (No Nay...

A new protocol for safe mare movement during the breeding season was announced by the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association on Sunday. Despite Irish racing being halted on Mar. 24 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and Ireland beginning its own lockdown, breeding practices are allowed to continue. The ITBA statement is as follows: When transporting your mare to stud/boarding farm breeders should make sure they have one official form of picture identification with them and if an employee, have a letter from your employer indicating that you are an essential employee....