Imbalance in entries as boom in four-year-old maiden division shows no signs of abating

The ever-growing dominance of the four-year-old maiden division in Irish point-to-pointing has been particularly evident across the opening month of the new season.

While many of the other age divisions have been slow to get into stride, numbers have been booming in the four-year-old category. The entries for this weekend’s three fixtures are a perfect example of the imbalance.

At Damma House on Sunday, the opening four-year-old maiden attracted a healthy 41 entries, yet the remaining five races had a combined total of 45.

It is a similar picture at Lisronagh on Saturday, with the four-year-old geldings’ maiden accounting for 45 per cent of the entries on the six-race card.  Once again that is a troubling disparity between the younger age group and the older divisions, which are struggling to attract the same numbers. 

The four-year-old division has become the engine driving the sport forward. After such a significantly weather-interrupted spring term, the autumn crop of young talent waiting to be unleashed has been bolstered by those denied an opportunity in the first half of the year.

With the forecast bumper start to the season in the age group coming to fruition, races have had to be divided on three of the opening four weekends of the season. 

Another factor in that unusual situation is the decision to reduce the safety limit on the maximum number of runners in four-year-old maiden races.

Last year the safety limit for four-year-old races and novice rider races was reduced to 15, with a limit of 17 for all remaining races. The logic remains sound, with some racecourses still having lower safety numbers for hurdle races, but one consequence has been an increasing number of divided races.

At Tinahely last Sunday, 16 runners were declared for the four-year-old maiden, resulting in two divisions of eight rather than the single race of 16 runners that would have been the case previously.

This was also the case with divides this season at Castletown-Geoghegan and Curraghmore, and it can lead to diluted quality. 

Weekend fixtures

Saturday
Lisronagh, first race 12.30

Sunday
Damma House, first race 12.30
Rathcannon, first race 12.00

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