Seasonal staff at local racecourses feeling pinch from pandemic restrictions

The pandemic is having a severe impact on the employment of seasonal staff at local racecourses.

Tipperary Racecourse, which had been set for the start of the flat season at the end of April, is instead expected to remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Race meetings have been cancelled until April 19th at the earliest as part of national Covid-19 containment measures.


Manager of Tipperary Racecourse, Andrew Hogan, says it’s a blow for a lot of seasonal staff:

“We’d have an awful lot of seasonal staff coming to us in March and working through until October. So it’s having a huge impact on them because there’s no work for them at the moment.

“On race days, you have catering staff and security. So there’s a lot of staff that aren’t required because we’re not racing, and it’s very tough on them.”