HRI seek ‘radical changes’
That was the summation yesterday of Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, at the annual HRI Awards in Leopardstown.
Seven Cheltenham winners, Ballydoyle’s 15 Group 1 successes, Rite Of Passage making it five Ascot Gold Cups in-a-row for Ireland and first Group 1 victories for Jessica Harrington, Michael Halford and Eddie Lynam were just some of the highlights, but there is no escaping the challenges being faced by racing right now
“Off the track it’s been a difficult year for everyone in the industry and if the economic situation wasn’t bad enough, we could have done without the two-week shutdown” said Kavanagh, referring to the chaos caused by the recent cold snap.
Kavanagh called on all sectors of racing to unite for the common good and expressed the hope that the newly-formed Horse Racing Forum, under the chairmanship of Jim Nicholson, would establish a framework that would see racing entering a brave new world.
Nothing would be possible if the industry was not self-sufficient, he argued, however. The issue of a Labour Party policy document last March to deal with the taxing of betting was a boost to this campaign, he said, as it ensured cross-party support for the industry.
The switch to the Department of Agriculture from the Department of Sport was also a positive development and made more sense from a funding and employment rationale, he argued.
“The commitment of the Taoiseach to amend the tax base to include telephone and internet betting was also important. It is essential in our view that all form of betting including the exchanges must be handled in an equal manner so that we can secure long-term funding that is not reliant on the government of the time. That would save a government €28m a year.
“Hopefully it can happen as there is a growing feeling that the current situation is unsustainable.
He continued: “We need to look at how racing presents itself. If we don’t change the way racing presents itself we could lose some race tracks. We could be looking at some radical changes.”
Meanwhile, Colm Murphy reported Big Zeb to be in good order after his charge won the coveted Horse of the Year award.
Big Zeb delivered on all his promise at Cheltenham last March when winning the Champion Chase in thrilling style and having impressed on his seasonal debut at Navan last month, is on target for a return to the Cotswolds.
“It was great to win it and it’s fantastic to win this award” said Murphy. “He’s in good form.”
Meanwhile, Irish Examiner columnist Jessica Harrington and Katie Walsh were named joint winners of the Outstanding Achievement award. The duo made history by becoming the first joint winners of any award in the eighth running of the scheme.
Harrington was honoured for adding an outstanding flat season to her more customary national hunt success. The Moone handler trained 30 winners on the level and Pathfork provided her with her first Group 1 success.
Walsh was delighted to share the spoils with Harrington and was a worthy recipient, returning from the Cheltenham festival with two winners from two rides, having made the journey with no ride.
Michael Halford and Willie Mullins won the Flat and National Hunt awards, record-breaking amateur jockey, Derek O’Connor, took the point-to-point honours for the fourth time.
The Contribution to the Industry award went to RTÉ’s Colm Murray.
