Geraghty calls for increase in betting taxes
Speaking in Dublin yesterday, where he was unveiled as Horse Racing Ireland’s ambassador for national hunt racing, Geraghty dismissed the Irish Bookmakers’ Association’s recent criticisms of HRI as an attempt to deflect attention from the fact that betting is not funding racing in the way that it should.
Geraghty will always be associated with equine greats Moscow Flyer and Kicking King, and he hopes to forge equally spectacular partnerships with the likes of Big Zeb (who he compares to Moscow Flyer because both “are mad to live on the edge a bit”), Voler La Vedette, Mad Max, Zaynar and Finian’s Rainbow amongst others over the coming six months.
He is hopeful the upcoming Budget will take the step he feels is necessary so that Irish racing does not have to rely on Government handouts to maintain its current high standards.
“Funding is the main issue” said Geraghty. “Racing itself is in a very healthy state as regards the quality of horses, trainers, jockeys, breeders. We have the best of all. Funding is the issue.
“Racing doesn’t want to be putting its hand in anyone’s pocket. The bookmakers have a bit of a free ride with regard to tax in comparison to other countries like France. Racing should and could be self-sufficient through putting in a betting tax like that. That wouldn’t be putting its hand into public expenses.
“People looking in from the outside might have the wrong idea and think racing is looking to take money directly from the State but that’s not the case. We’re looking to get it self-funded.
“It’s a massive employer, 22,000 people in the industry. And it’s rural as well which is equally as important. Towns have industries but you need to keep money in the countryside as well.”
If the betting tax is increased, Geraghty knows what should be done with the revenue.
“Keep the prize money intact. Without owners, you don’t have horses. You need the incentive for owners. When you see Kauto Star coming over for the big chase in Down Royal… if you let them big races slip, you’ll lose the big names. We all like to see them coming over – we don’t like to see them winning all the time – but we like to see them coming over.
“Bookmakers are not in the habit of giving money away and if they give it away they generally get it back. So they’re not in a rush to run to our rescue or anything like that.
“It’s very hard to see why and how it can stay the way it is because that’s not a level playing pitch at all. When you see the amount of turnover in betting on Irish racing all over the world through the exchanges and everything else, we deserve a piece of the action.”
Geraghty’s opinions will be available on a weekly basis in a diary on www.goracing.ie, while his loyal followers can look forward to a more regular updates via Facebook and Twitter.
This time of year holds huge excitement for the national hunt fraternity because the season is a blank canvas and each tableau is a possible masterpiece.
“Willie Mullins says the best night in Cheltenham is the Monday night because everything is about to happen and we’re all there and we’re all going to win everything. It’s a bit like that at the start of the season. You have all these potential superstars and it’s very exciting.”
Geraghty shares his time between England and Ireland, riding for Colm Murphy, Jessica Harrington and Eoin Griffin over here, and Nicky Henderson on the far side of the water.
Meanwhile, the IBA issued another statement yesterday dismissing the HRI’s response to its call for a value-for-money investigation into all HRI spending as “pure spin and a disingenuous attempt to shift focus away from the horse racing body”.
