Setback for HRI as PAC seeks answers to €235m rights deal

At a meeting of PAC, chair Brian Stanley TD said that sharing out of funds from the media deal was “an issue” and that “smaller racecourses are being left behind”.

Thu, 01 Jun, 2023 - 18:33

Ian Mallon

THE Public Accounts Committee has questioned the fairness of Horse Racing Ireland’s media rights deal and whether smaller racecourses are being treated fairly in the distribution of fees.

In a significant development on Thursday, the powerful Oireachtas finance body said it will be seeking answers to a range of questions from HRI around the €235m deal agreed last month, on behalf of Irish racecourses.

Five tracks - Kilbeggan, Roscommon, Limerick, Thurles and Sligo – who form the United Irish Racecourses group, strongly oppose the agreement which they say disproportionally redistributes funds in an unfair manner, particularly in favour of racecourses owned by HRI.

At a meeting of PAC, chair Brian Stanley TD said that sharing out of funds from the media deal was “an issue” and that “smaller racecourses are being left behind”.

The development will be seen by the UIR as a victory of sorts, particularly after the chair highlighted that in recent rounds of capital funding smaller racecourses like Kilbeggan and Thurles received a total of €36,000, while HRI-owned or part-owned venues – Leopardstown and the Curragh – were awarded a total of €19m.

The committee also passed a motion calling on HRI to explain why it failed to implement a review which PAC said was promised in 2016 to examine the administration of media rights “but that has not happened, despite being requested to do so”.

Deputy Stanley added that the committee also wants to know why “HRI is refusing to appoint an independent arbitrator to resolve the matter”.

PAC also heard that HRI had received €14m from media rights deals between 2015 and 2020 – that figure over the next rights deal, which runs for five years from 2024, will rise to €35m.

On the matter of the smaller racecourses not receiving a service agreement that they require, the chair said: “I think that’s an issue that we need to address, and is an issue which we need to take up.

“I think it’s important that these racecourses, that are on the back foot - for their viability - that they get a fair divvy out – some of which are in need of capital funding.”

The developments will come of some concern to HRI which negotiated the rights deal over a lengthy period from the beginning of this year until May — a deal which it believes offers the greatest value for money for the NGB.

However, by ignoring the rejection by the five smaller racecourses out of the total 26 tracks, it has forced a situation to become toxic and which is now threatening the very deal itself, which was passed by HRI’s Board three weeks ago.

That the rights negotiation process was run by a HRI-chaired committee, which awarded €7m per year to the organisation out of the deal, has been a sticking point for critics of the agreement.

HRI awarded the rights - which include rights to betting shops, streaming and digital services, international fixed odds and Tote, as well as Home Broadcasting and UK terrestrial rights - to a joint bid by RMG and SIS.

Whether today’s intervention by PAC will force any changes to the agreement is unknown.

HRI last night appeared before a closed session of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine which CEO Suzanne Eade said was a positive engagement, in comments to the Irish Examiner.

“We were very happy to get our opportunity to talk about the media rights process for Irish racing on Wednesday night in front of the Joint Oireachtas Committee, and thank the members for their time,” she said.

“We will be working with Roscommon, Sligo, Thurles, Limerick and Kilbeggan because this deal is a great one for racecourses in Ireland and we want them to be part of it. The historic strength of collective negotiation of these rights has been well proven.”