Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) chief executive Brian Kavanagh has indicated that Irish racing is ready to resume soon after it gets a green light from the government.

Lockdown restrictions remain in place until 5 May, which means Irish racing will have stopped for exactly six weeks, but with recent positive news regarding the spread of Covid-19, speculation that racing will be among the first activities to be reintroduced has risen.

Speaking on Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday programme, Kavanagah said: “The Government have been really supportive of us throughout this process.

“They encouraged us to keep racing behind closed doors before the lockdown and they’ve allowed the breeding industry to keep going during the lockdown.

Kavanagh went on to say that it remained a possibility that the Irish Guineas meeting could take place on its planned weekend (23 and 24 of May) pending when racing returns. He also added that HRI would examine the protocols for horses from Britain or France travelling over to the Curragh that weekend.