RACING:HORSE RACING Ireland announced yesterday two new Grade One National Hunt races exclusively for mares will be run at next year's Fairyhouse and Punchestown festivals.

They will be the first races of their kind for mares in either Britain or Ireland.

Both Fairyhouse’s EBF Mares Final and Punchestown’s ITBA Champion Mares Hurdle have been upgraded from Grade Two status to Grade One.

HRI’s director of racing Jason Morris said the moves were designed to encourage the production and retention of high quality mares in Ireland. “The upgrading of the Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse’s Easter meeting to Grade One status was merited based upon its historical quality, while the promotion of the Open Mares race at the Punchestown Festival was a strategic decision to provide an end-of-season championship event which will hopefully attract all the best mares from Ireland and overseas,” he said.