Pat Keogh

Brian Kavanagh, whose 20-year tenure as chief executive officer of Horse Racing Ireland comes to an end upon the conclusion of his latest term in September, will in November take up the role of chief executive officer of The Curragh. Kavanagh takes over from Pat Keogh, who has been in the role since July of 2019. Padraig McManus, chairman of the board of The Curragh, said, "The board are looking forward to welcoming Brian into his new role as CEO of The Curragh Racecourse and training grounds, and look forward...

Heavy rain in Ireland in the last 24 hours has left the Curragh racecourse partly waterlogged, forcing a 7.30am inspection on Saturday ahead of the first of two Classic  race days this weekend. The racecourse's chief executive Pat Keogh confirmed that the course is currently unraceable. He said: "We got a lot more rain than we anticipated overnight. We were forecast 15 millimetres at the most in the last 24 hours, and we got 35 millimetres. It's come completely out of left field, unfortunately." He added, "The track would not be raceable...

The nominees for the 2020 The Curragh Awards were released on Monday. Awards will be given on the Leading Riding Performance, Leading Training Performance and the Horse of the Season. To view the nominees and vote, go to  www.curragh.ie/awards until Nov. 22. There will be a virtual award ceremony on Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. "The Curragh Awards acknowledge the outstanding achievements during 2020 at The Curragh and presents an opportunity for the public to be involved in determining the champions of the season," said The Curragh CEO Pat Keogh....

Juddmonte will sponsor the G1 Irish Oaks for the next three years, The Curragh announced via Horse Racing Ireland on Wednesday. The 2020 edition is slated for Saturday, July 18. The distinctive pink, green and white silks have been first past the post three times in the fillies' Classic-Wemyss Bight (GB) (Dancing Brave) in 1993, Bolas (GB) (Unfuwain) in 1994 and Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) took the 2017 edition. In 2020, Prince Khalid Abdullah's operation will be represented by homebred fillies G1 bet365 Fillies' Mile victress Quadrilateral (GB) (Frankel {GB})...

TRM will continue its partnership with The Curragh, including sponsoring a series of handicaps and the backing of a variety of stable staff initiatives. Those include Best Turned Out prizes culminating in a €1,000 winner at the end of the season. Each Best Turned Out winner will also receive a TRM-Curragh gilet, and August will be TRM Stable Staff Appreciation Month. TRM will also sponsor the Listed Waterford Testimonial S. on Oct. 11. Pat Keogh, chief executive officer of Curragh Racecourse, said, "We are hugely grateful to TRM for their...

The Curragh has announced that it will defer its gallop fees by a month in a bid to help racehorse owners during the challenging scenario of the coronavirus pandemic. The Curragh Racecourse reopened last year following an €80 million redevelopment and over the last few years there has also been substantial upgrading to the facilities on the 2,000-acre training grounds which surround the track. "We don't know what's going to happen and we're waiting for the next announcement from the government. It's a difficult time for everyone so we wanted...

The five individual trails of the 2019 Curragh Thoroughbred Trail, part of Longines Irish Champions Weekend, are now available to book online. The various Thoroughbred Trails--DK Weld, James Nash and Dick Brabazon; John Oxx and Willie McCreery; Michael Halford and Kildangan Stud; Johnny Murtagh, Conor O'Dwyer and Brendan Duke; Ken Condon and Martin Brassil--are located at The Curragh prior to racing on Sunday, Sept. 15, allowing racing fans to go behind the scenes accompanied by an expert guide, with light refreshments at The Curragh Racecourse prior to the start of...

Late last month Pat Keogh, chief executive officer at Leopardstown since 2011, took up the same position at The Curragh upon the resignation of Derek McGrath. The fast nature of that change over means that Keogh will slowly phase out of his Leopardstown role, presiding over both racecourses until the conclusion of Longines Irish Champions Weekend on Sept. 14 and 15. It is no secret that the redeveloped Curragh Racecourse, unveiled after three years of construction this spring, has undergone some growing pains which have already been addressed by racecourse...

Pat Keogh, who was CEO of Leopardstown Racecourse since 2011, has been appointed the Chief Executive of The Curragh Racecourse and Training Grounds effective immediately, Horse Racing Ireland and Curragh Racecourse Ltd. announced on Monday. Keogh will continue in his Leopardstown role for now, but will begin scaling back his involvement there over the next few months, while the Leopardstown management team will be augmented in the near future. Padraig McManus, Chairman of Curragh Racecourse Ltd. said, "I would like to thank outgoing CEO Derek McGrath and wish him well,...