Public barred from racing in Ireland.

All race meetings in Ireland will be run behind closed doors for the rest of the month because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Ireland is the latest jurisdiction to close the gates to spectators with Hong Kong and Japan racing with restrictions for the past few weeks and Korea shut down.

The Dubai World Cup on March 29 will also be run with only necessary participants involved and lead-up events cancelled.

The first three days of the four-day Cheltenham Festival have gone ahead with big crowds but extra hygiene measures in place.

Horse Racing Ireland said restrictions would be imposed to ensure that less than 500 people are on site at each meeting.

Racing in Australia is scheduled to go ahead this weekend.