RACING:THERE MAY still be a month of 2011 to go but Horse Racing Ireland has already moved to alter its 2012 fixture list due to a move in the dates for next year's GAA All-Ireland finals.

With the All-Ireland hurling final switched a week back to September 9th and the football decider moved from September 16th to September 23rd, Horse Racing Ireland has decided to try to prevent an impact on attendance figures at racing fixtures around that time.

As a result a Sunday evening Galway fixture set for September 9th has been moved three days to the following Wednesday while a Listowel Sunday meeting has been moved back a week to September 16th to avoid clashing with the football final.

That has meant a direct switch with a Gowran Park date (September 16th moved to September 23rd) with HRI clearly presuming the Kilkenny football team are unlikely to be involved in next year’s All-Ireland final.

Racing’s ruling body also announced amendments to Dundalk’s winter programme yesterday with programmed races, mostly claimers, being taken out of 11 of the 12 remaining fixtures. This will allow a division of races which are most in demand.

HRI also announced they are dropping the band rating for higher quality handicaps, from 85 to 80, and from 90 to 85 in February and March.

“We appreciate the frustration being felt by the connections of horses currently being balloted out and we hope that the measures taken will improve the situation from January onwards,” said HRI’s director of racing Jason Morris.

“Removing a number of races from the programme will provide the flexibility for more races to be divided in the areas most required by the horse population,” added Morris.

“Reducing the higher rating band limits and tightening some of the rating bands should also assist in reducing the overall level of balloting.”