Officials at Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) announced a reorganization of its senior management team, as Paul Dermody will take over as chief executive of HRI, with John Osborne, CEO since 2017, taking on the new role of Director of Equine Welfare and Bloodstock.
Dermody, a native of Dunboyne, County Meath, joined HRI as its Commercial and Marketing Director in 2017 and served in the same role with Leinster Rugby.
“I am very excited to be taking on the CEO HRI Racecourses role. I look forward to working closely with the teams at Leopardstown, Fairyhouse, Navan and Tipperary to showcase the best of Irish racing for racegoers and industry stakeholders alike,” Dermody said. “With the variety of racing hosted at these four racecourses, we have an integral role to play in growing the profile of our sport, enhancing the experience of going racing and ultimately increasing attendances. I hope to leverage my commercial experience in racing to date…to support the individual racecourses to grow their business and continue to play integral roles in the communities they exist in.”
Osborne, a native of Kildare, was a former Chief Executive of the Irish National Stud prior to his service at HRI.
Osborne said: “HRI recognizes that we must have the highest standards of care for both people and horses in this industry. I am delighted to be given the opportunity to ensure that everything we do meets the high expectations of all who look on. If our horses could talk, I would like to think they would say 'a racehorse has a life well lived.'”
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