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Master Trainers

Master Trainers are unrestricted Licence holders who have been approved by the Licensing Committee to educate an apprentice in respect of all aspects of the horse racing industry. A Trainer must be able to demonstrate that they can meet the below criteria to be considered a Master Trainer: 


Pre-requisite

  • Held a Flat Licence to Train for a minimum of two years, or if less than two years the applicant must have sufficient riding experience 
  • Have a minimum of three horses Returned in Training 
  • Have at least one horse that has a handicap rating over 55 (entry handicap of 47) 
  • Have a minimum of 20 runners on the Flat in the previous season, or an average of 20 Flat runners per season in the previous 3 years. 

Application

  • Letter of intent to the Licensing Committee setting out current and future plans. You can download a copy of the Letter of intent here.  
  • Interview

Post Approval 

  • Submit a signed Deed of Apprenticeship contract
  • Must maintain their Licence to Train
  • Must notify the IHRB should any concerns regarding the Apprenticeship be raised 
  • Must release their Apprentice for any IHRB specified Training 
  • Must ensure compliance with the Rules of Racing
  • Subject to annual reviews 

Multiple Apprentices

  • Hold an unrestricted Flat Licence to Train for a minimum of two years 
  • Have a minimum of six horses Returned in Training per Apprentice over the course of the season
  • Have a minimum of three handicapped horses, two of which should have a rating over 55 per apprentice 

Minimum Annual Ride Requirements for Apprentice


As of 1 December 2022, all Apprentices are required to achieve a minimum of three rides per licence year, in order to be eligible to renew the following year.


As a Master, it is the Trainers obligation to ensure that the minimum of three rides are achieved by the Apprentice within the licence year. 


All newly licensed Apprentices will be a required to obtain a minimum of six rides in their first year, and the Master is obliged to ensure the minimum of six rides is achieved by a first year Apprentice. As per current requirements the Apprentices first three rides must by from horses trained by the Master, but the subsequent three can be obtained from another trainer.

 

For the subsequent years that the apprentice is contracted to their Master, the responsibility lies with the Master to ensure the apprentice achieves three minimum rides prior to licence renewal. 


If at any point the Master believes the apprentice is unfit to achieve the minimum rides, requires extra training, or there is a breakdown in communication, the responsibility is that of the Master to inform the IHRB. The apprentice should also liaise with the IHRB on the above matters, should they arise.