Minister launches Irish initiative

Ireland’s Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O’Donoghue today launched the Report of the Racegoer’s Consultative Forum at a reception in Killarney.

The report, published by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), is the work of the Racegoer’s Consultative Forum (RCF) which was established to “consult with and report to Horse Racing Ireland regarding any aspects of the racegoers experience.”

The report identifies a number of key criteria and sets out a series of recommendations for HRI and Irish racecourses to consider such as admission, attendance, catering and quality of racecards etc.

“The intention of the Act was to give the racegoer a means of direct communication with the board of HRI,” said Minister O’Donoghue.

“It is always a very difficult exercise for any body to claim to represent the opinion of a large class of people, however, this forum has worked tirelessly to collect the opinions of racegoers throughout Ireland by holding a series of six regional meetings to which the public was invited.

“The report sets out the notion of a Racegoers’ Charter which will establish minimum standards of facilities for all racegoers. It is demanding and challenging, as a report of this nature should be, and I am confident that HRI and the racecourses will rise to the challenge.”