Ian Fortune
Saturday’s statement on the RPGTV Irish dates shows a real commitment from those involved to give the best possible coverage of Irish racing.
In all there will be a minimum of 19 meetings featuring the very best of Ireland’s canine talent in the biggest competitions on the calendar.
Of course, last year RPGTV increased their coverage of Irish racing considerably but 2022 will be even greater with the first additional meeting penciled in for RCETS Gold Cup final night on Saturday, February 5th. They will also finish the year in style with both nights of the Winter Racing Festival set to be shown live on December 29th and December 30th.
There will be a minimum of six tracks covered on the channel, although it’s no surprise Shelbourne Park will be the most visited with thirteen nights in total. Those thirteen nights will include four rounds of the Derby.
The one big night missing from the list is Oaks final night. Sadly, it clashes with the semi-finals of the English Derby and wouldn’t et the coverage it so richly deserves.
Limerick will be featured twice with both the Kirby Memorial and Leger finals live on the channel. Tralee, Waterford, Cork and Mullingar also feature for the Juvenile Classic, Select Stakes, Laurels and Cesarewitch.
At a time when mainstream television is not giving our wonderful sport the coverage it so richly deserves, the additional RPGTV coverage comes as a real shot in the arm. Congratulations to all that made it possible and we look forward to even more dates in 2023.
A full breakdown of the Feature Irish nights on RPGTV in 2022:
DATE |
COMPETITION |
VENUE |
Saturday, February 5th |
Gold Cup |
Shelbourne Park |
Friday, March 11th |
Juvenile Classic |
Tralee |
Saturday, March 12th |
Easter Cup |
Shelbourne Park |
Saturday, April 2nd |
Select Stakes |
Waterford |
Saturday, April 9th |
Shelbourne 600 |
Shelbourne Park |
Friday, April 22nd |
Kirby Memorial |
Limerick |
Sunday, May 15th |
Cesarewitch |
Mullingar |
Saturday, July 16th |
Corn Cuchulainn |
Shelbourne Park |
Saturday, July 30th |
Champion Stakes |
Shelbourne Park |
Saturday, September 3rd |
Irish Derby (3rd Round) |
Shelbourne Park |
Saturday, September 10th |
Irish Derby (1/4 Finals) |
Shelbourne Park |
Saturday, September 17th |
Irish Derby (Semi-finals) |
Shelbourne Park |
Saturday, September 24th |
Irish Derby Final |
Shelbourne Park |
Saturday, October 22nd |
Juvenile Derby |
Shelbourne Park |
Saturday, November 5th |
Irish Laurels |
Cork |
Saturday November 5th |
Puppy Oaks |
Shelbourne Park |
Saturday, December 10th |
Irish St Leger |
Limerick |
Thursday, December 29th |
Winter Racing Festival |
Shelbourne Park |
Friday, December 30th |
Winter Racing Festival |
Shelbourne Park |